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THE HORSE AND HIS DISEASES : embracing his 
History and Varieties, Breeding and Management, and Vices ; 
with the Diseases to which he is subject, and the Remedies 
best adapted to their cure. To which are added Rarey's Method 
of Taming Horses, and the Law of Warranty as applicable to 
the purchase and sale of the animal. By Robert Jennings, V.S., 
Author of " Cattle and their Diseases ;" ete., etc. Illustrated, 
12mo., Cloth. Price $1.25. 

WHAT IS SAID OF IT. 

" The most full, thorough, practical, scientific treatise on this subject yet produced." 
— North American and Gazette, Philadelphia. 

" A sensible and practical treatise * * Very comprehensive in subject, and clear and 
forcible in the expression of its views. It will make an excellent companion for every 
owner and keeper of this noble animal. "—Observer, New York. 

"It is not only a most attractive work, but is also most entertaining in the matter it 
contains." — Times, Cincinnati. 

" This valuable work should be owned by every farmer and dealer in horse-flesh. * * 
It contains most valuable information. "—Post, Pittsburgh. 

"This, we have no hesitation in saying, is one of the best works upon the subject 
ever published. * * * No one who owns a horse, or has any thing to do with his care 
and management, ought to be without such a work." — Maine Farmer, Augusta, Me. 

" As a book of reference — when disease or accident renders just such works almost 
invaluable— we recommend it to those peculiarly interested." — Rural New Yorker, 

Rochester, N. T. 

"We have read this work with great pleasure, and have no hesitancy in recom- 
mending it to the public as one of the most valuable works now in print." — Wilkes's 
Spirit of the Times, New York. 

" The author is our old and long time contributor, a man capable of writing a good 
book on this subject ; and he has done it. It is worth, to any owner of a horse, ten 
times the price." — Ohio Farmer, Cleveland. 



Single copies of "The Horse and his Diseases," or of 
" Cattle and their Diseases," will be sent to any address, post paid, 
on receipt of price, $1.25 each. 

JOHN E. POTTEE, Publisher, 

No. 617 Ransom Street, Philadelphia. 



IN PREPARATION' AND WILL SOON BE READY, 



SHEEP, SWINE, AND POULTRY: 

Embracing the history and varieties of each ; the best modes of breeding them ; 
their feeding and management ; together with the diseases to which they are 
subject, and the appropriate remedies for each, by Kobert Jennings, V.S., 
author of " The Horse and his Diseases ;- " " Cattle and their Diseases," etc., etc. 

This work will form the third volume of a series, destined to prove acceptable Hand- 
Books for Farmers and Stock-raiseii ; and will be prepared upon the same general 
plan as the two volnmes already furnished by the same popular author. 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES 



EMBRACING 



THEIR HISTORY AND BREEDS, CROSSING AND BREEDING, AND 

FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT ; WITH THE DISEASES 

TO WHICH THEY ARE SUBJECT, AND 

THE REMEDIES BEST ADAPTED 

TO THEIR CURE. 



TO WHICH IS ADDED A LIST OF THE MEDICINES USED IN TREATING CATTLE. 



BY EOBEET JENNINGS, Y. S. ; ' 

PROFESSOR OF PATHOLOGY AND OPERATIVE SURGERY IN THE VETERINARY COLLEGE 
PHILADELPHIA ; LATE PROFESSOR OF VETERINARY MEDICINE IN THE AGRICULTURAL 
COLLEGE OF OHIO ; SECRETARY OF THE AMERICAN VETERINARY ASSO- 
CIATION OF PHILADELPHIA ; AUTHOR OF "THE HORSE 
AND HIS DISEASES," ETC., ETC. 




lit!) Numerous Illustration*. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
JOHN E. POTTER, No. 617 SANSOM STREET. 

NEW TOEK:—G. M. SAXTON, No. 25 PAKK ROW. 

1863. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, hy 

JOHN E. POTTER, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court c-f the United States for tjhe 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
STEREOTYPED BY S. A 

607 SANSOM STREET. 



24/4 3 




PREFACE 



A maeked interest has of late years been manifested in our 
country relative to the subject of breeding and rearing domestic 
cattle. This has not been confined to the dairyman alone. The 
greater portion of intelligent agriculturists have perceived the 
necessity of paying more attention than was formerly devoted to 
the improvement and perfection of breeds for the uses of the table 
as well. In this respect, European cattle-raisers have long taken 
the precedence of our own. 

The gratifying favor with which the author's former publication, 
" The Horse and his Diseases," has been received by the public, has 
induced him to believe that a work, similar in spirit and general 
treatment, upon Cattle, would not be without interest for the agri- 
cultural community. 

In this belief, the present treatise has been prepared. The 
author has availed himself of the labors of others in this connec- 
tion ; never, however, adopting results and conclusions, no matter 
how strongly endorsed, which have been contradicted by his own 
observation and. experience. In a field like the one in question, 
assuredly, if anywhere, some degree of independent judgment will 
not be censured by those who are familiar with the sad conse- 
quences resulting from the attempted application of theories now 
universally exploded, but which in the day and generation of their 
originators were sanctioned and advocated by those who claimed to 
be magnates in this department. 



6 PREFACE. 

To the following works, especially, the author acknowledges him- 
self indebted : American Farmer's Encyclopcedia ; Stephens's Book 
of the Farm ; Flint's Milch-Cows and Dairy Farming ; Laurence 
on Cattle ; Allen's Domestic Animals ; Youatt and Martin on 
Cattle ; Thomson's Food of Animals ; Allen's Eural Architecture ; 
Colman's Practical Agriculture and Kural Economy ; Goodale's 
Breeding of Domestic Animals ; and Prof. Gamgee's valuable 
contributions to veterinary science. 

Particular attention is requested to the division of " Diseases." 
Under this head, as in his former work, the author has endeavored 
to detail the symptoms of the most common ailments of cattle in 
such a manner that every farmer and cattle-owner can at once 
understand them, and also to suggest such procurable remedies as a 
wide experience has prQved to be most efficacious. 

A generous space has been devoted to the consideration of that 
fatal epidemic, now generally known as " Pleuro-Pneumonia," as it 
has manifested itself in Europe and this country, in the belief that 
a matter of such vital importance to the stock-raiser ought to re- 
ceive a complete exposition in a work like the present. As the 
author's personal experience in connection with the treatment of 
this peculiar disease has been, perhaps, as large and varied as that 
of any American practitioner, he is not without the hope that his 
views upon the matter may prove productive of some benefit to 
others. 

Should the present volume prove as acceptable to those interested 
as did his former work, the author will be abundantly satisfied that 
he has not mistaken in this instance the wants of the public. 

Philadelphia, July, 1863. 



CONTENTS 



HISTORY AND BREEDS OF CATTLE, 13 

The British Ox, 15 

American Cattle, 21 

The Ayrshire, 23 

The Jersey, „.... f 30 

The Short-Horns, 32 

The Dutch, 36 

The Hereford, 38 

The North-Devon, 41 

Native Cattle, '. 43 

Natural History op Cattle, 60 

Gestation, 61 

Formation of Teeth, 61 

Points of a Good Cow 67 

The Milk-Mirror, 61 

CROSSING AND BREEDING, ( 77 

Pregnancy, 92 

Treatment Before Calving, 93 

FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT, 97 

Soiling, I 118 

Culture op Grasses for Fodder, * 122 

The Barn, 146 

Milking, 155 

Raising of Calves,. J 68 

Points of Fat Cattle, 183 

Driving and Slaughtering .' 188 

7 . 



8 CONTENTS. 

DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES 205 

Abortion, 206 

Apoplexy, 215 

Black-Water, 215 

Bronchitis, ■. 216 

Consumption, 217 

Coryza, , 217 

Cow-pox, 218 

Diarrhoea „ 219 

Dysentery, 220 

• Enteritis, 222 

Epizootics, 224 

Epizootic Catarrh, 234 

Fardel, f. 236 

Foul in the Foot,... 237 

Garget 237 

Gastro-enteritis, 238 

Hoose, 238 

Hoove, .i.... 239 

Hydatids, 240 

Inflammation of the Bladder, 241 

Inflammation of the Haw, 241 

Inflammation of the Kidneys, 242 

Inflammation of the Liver, '. 242 

Laryngitis, 243 

Lice 214 

Mange 244 

Murrain, 246 

Navel-ill, f 247 

Obstructions in the (Esophagus, 247 

Open Joints,,. ,„,,,.,,., , ,..„, ...... ^... ...... .,....,.. 248 



CONTENTS. 9 

DISEASES AND THEIR EEMEDIES— Continued. 

Parturition, ~ 248 

Free Martins, 251 

Cleansing:, 253 

Inversion of the Uterus, 253 

Phrenitis, 254 

Pleurisy, 255 

Pleuropneumonia, 256 

Pneumonia, 300 

Protrusion of the Bladder, 302 

Puerperal Fever, 302 

Quarter Evil 303 

Rabies, 304 

Red Water, 305 

Rheumatism, 307 

Strangulation of the Intestines, 308 

Thrush in the Mouth, 308 

Tumors, 308 

Dicers about the Joints, 312 

Warbles, 313 

Worms, 315 

Worms in the Bronchial Tubes, 316 

Surgical Operations, 316 

Castration, 316 

Tracheotomy, 319 

Spaying, 320 

List op Medicines used in Treating Cattle, 330 

of Various Medicines, = 336 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGB 

A Prize Bull, 13 

The Well-fed Beasts, 19 

An Ayrshire Bull, 33 

A Short-horn Bull, 33 

A North Devon Steer, 41 

Draft Oxen, 45 

Skeleton of the Ox, 50 

Teeth at Birth, 52 

Teethat Second Week, 52 

Teeth at Three Weeks, 53 

Teeth at a Month, 53 

Teeth at Five to Eight Months, 53 

Ten Months Teeth, 53 

Twelve Months Teeth, .' 54 

Fifteen Months Teeth, ,. 54 

Eighteen Months Teeth, 55 

Teeth at Two Years Past, 55 

Teeth at Three Years Past, 56 

Teeth at Four Years Past, 56 

Teeth at Five Years Past, 56 

Teeth at Ten Years Past, 56 

A Good Milch Cow, 58 

Milk-Mirror (A), . 62 

Milk-Mirror (B), 63 

Milk-Mirror (C), 63 

Milk-Mirror (D), t 64 

Milk-Mirror (E), 65 

11 



12 ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Milk-Mirror (F), 66 

Milk-Mirror (G), 69 

Milk-Mirror (H), 70 

Milk-Mirror (K), 72 

Milk-Mirror (L), 74 

Cow and Calf, 77 

Ready for Action, 83 

A Sprightly Youth, . ... 89 

Feeding, 97 

The Family Pets, 102 

Buying Cattle, 107 

Calling in the Cattle, 112 

"On the Rampage," 117 

Patiently Waiting, 123 

A Chance for a Selection, ?.. 129 

A West Highland Ox, 139 

Barn for Thirty-four Cows and Three Yoke of Oxen, 150 

Transverse Section, 152 

Room over the Cow-Room...... 153 

The Preferable Method,. .;.._ 159 

Maternal Affection, 168 

Frolicsome, .• 177 

Points of Cattle, 185 

A Frontispiece, 190 

Scotch Mode of Cutting up Beef,.... 195 

English Mode of Cutting up Beef, 197 

Diseases and Their Remedies, 205 

A Chat on the Road, 218 

The Mad Bull, 230 

An Aberdeenshire Polled Bull, 244 

Taking an Observation, 256 

The Twins, 268 

A Rural Scene, i 285 

Taking it Easily, 299 

Home Again...,., 313 




It is quite certain that the ox has been domesticated 
and in the service of man from a very remote period. 
We are informed in the fourth chapter of Genesis, that cattle 
were kept by the early descendants of Adam ; Jubal, the son 
of Lamech — who was probably born during the lifetime of 
Adam — being styled the father of such as have cattle. The 
ox having been preserved by Noah from the flood of waters, 
the original breed of our present cattle must have been in 
the neighborhood of Mount Ararat. From thence, dispersing 
over the face of the globe — altering by climate, by food, and 

13 



14 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

by cultivation — originated the various breeds of modern 
ages. 

That the value of the ox tribe has been in all ages and 
climates highly appreciated, we have ample evidence. The 
natives of Egypt, India, and Hindostan, seem alike to have 
placed the cow amongst their deities ; and, judging by her 
usefulness to all classes, no animal could perhaps have been 
selected whose value to mankind is greater. The traditions, 
indeed, of every Celtic nation enroll the cow among the 
earliest productions, and represent it as a kind of divinity. 

In nearly all parts of the earth cattle are employed for 
their labor, for their milk, and for food. In southern Africa 
they are as much the associates of the Qaffre as the hofse is 
of the Arab. They share his toils, and assist him in tending 
his herds. They are even trained to battle, in which they 
become fierce and courageous. In central Africa the proudest 
ebony beauties are to be seen upon the backs of cattle. 
In all ages they have drawn the plough. In Spain they still 
trample out the corn ; in India they raise the water from the 
deepest wells to irrigate the thirsty soil of Bengal. When 
Caasar invaded Britain they constituted the chief riches of its 
inhabitants ; and they still form no inconsiderable item in the 
estimate of that country's riches. 

The parent race of the ox is said to have been much larger 
than any of the present varieties. The Urus, in his wild 
state at least, was an enormous and fierce animal, and 
ancient legends have thrown around him an air of mystery. 
In almost every part of the continent of Europe and in every 
district of England, skulls, evidently belonging to cattle, 
have been found, far exceeding in bulk any now known. 



THE BRITISH OX. 15 

As the various breeds of cattle among us were introduced 
into this country from Great Britain, we propose, before 
going into the details of the leading American breeds, to 
glance somewhat briefly at the history of 



THE BBITISH OX. 

In the earliest and most reliable accounts which we possess 
of the British Isles — the Commentaries of Caesar— we learn 
that the ancient Britons possessed great numbers of cattle. 
No satisfactory description of these cattle occurs in any 
ancient author; but, with occasional exceptions, we know 
that they possessed no great bulk or beauty. Caesar tells us 
that the* Britons neglected tillage and lived on milk and 
flesh ; and this account of the early inhabitants of the 
British Isle is corroborated by other authors. It was such 
an occupation and mode of life as suited their state of society. 
The island was divided into many little sovereignties; no 
fixed property was secure ; and that alone was valuable 
which could be hurried away at the threatened approach of 
the invader. Many centuries after this, when— although one 
sovereign seemed to reign paramount over the whole of the 
kingdom — there continued to be endless contests among the 
feudal barons, and therefore that property alone continued to 
be valuable which could be secured within the walls of the 
castle, or driven beyond the assailant's reach — an immense 
stock of provisions was always stored up in the various 
fortresses, both for the vassals and the cattle ; or it was con- 
trived that the latter should be driven to the domains of some 
friendly baron, or concealed in some inland recess. 

When the government became more powerful and settled, 



16 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

and property of every kind was assured a proportionate 
degree of protection, as well as more equally divided, 
the plough came into use; agricultural productions were 
oftener cultivated, the reaping of which was sure after the 
labor of sowing. Cattle were then comparatively neglected, 
and for some centuries injuriously so. Their numbers 
diminished, and their size also seems to have diminished ; 
and it is only within the last century and a half that any 
serious and successful efforts have been made materially to 
improve them. 

In the comparatively roving and uncertain life which the 
earlier inhabitants led, their cattle would sometimes stray 
and be lost. The country was at that time overgrown with 
forests, and the beasts betook themselves to the recesses of 
these woods, and became wild and sometimes ferocious. 
They, by degrees, grew so numerous as to be dangerous 
to the inhabitants of the neighboring districts. One of 
the chronicles asserts that many of them harbored in 
the forests in the neighborhood of London. Strange stories 
are told of some of them, and, doubtless, when irritated, they 
were fierce and dangerous enough. As, however, civilization 
advanced, and the forests became thinned and contracted, 
these animals were seen more rarely, and at length almost 
disappeared. A few of them, however, are still to be found 
in the parks of some of the leading English noblemen, who 
keep them for ornament and as curiosities. 

The color of this wild breed is invariably white, the muzzle 
being black; the whole of the inside of the ear, and about 
one-third of the outside, from the tips downward, red ; horns 
white, with black tips, very fine, and bent upward ; some of 



THE BRITISH OX. It 

the bulls have a thin, upright mane, about an inch and a half 
or two inches long. The beef is finely marbled and of ex- 
cellent flavor. 

At the first appearance of any person they set off in full 
gallop, and at the distance of about two hundred yards, 
make a wheel around and come boldly up again in a menacing 
manner ; on a sudden they make a full stop at the distance 
of forty or fifty yards, looking wildly at the object of their 
surprise ; but upon the least motion they all again turn 
round and fly off with equal speed, but not to the same 
distance, forming a shorter circle ; and, again returning with a 
more threatening aspect than before, they approach probably 
within thirty yards, when they again make another stand, 
and then fly off ; this they do several times, shortening their 
distance and advancing nearer and nearer, till they come 
within such short distance that most persons think it prudent 
to leave them. 

When the cows calve, they hide their calves for a week or 
ten days in some retired situation, and go and suckle them 
two or three times a day. If any persons come near the 
calves they clap their heads close to the ground to hide 
themselves — a proof of their native wildness. The dams 
allow no one to touch their young without attacking with 
impetuous ferocity. When one of the herd happens to be 
wounded, or has grown weak and feeble through age or 
sickness, the rest set on it and gore it to death. 

The breeds of cattle which are now found in Great Britain, 
are almost x as various as the soil of the different districts or 
the fancies of the breeders. They have, however, been very 
conveniently classed according to the comparative size of the 



18 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

horns ; the long-horns, originally from Lancashire, and estab- 
lished through most of the midland counties ; the short-horns, 
generally cultivated in the northern counties and in Lincoln- 
shire, and many of them found in every part of the kingdom 
where the farmer pays much attention to his dairy, or where 
a large supply of milk is desired ; and the middle-horns, a 
distinct and valuable breed, inhabiting, principally, the north 
of Devon, the east of Sussex, Herefordshire, and Gloucester- 
shire ; and of diminished bulk and with somewhat different 
character, the cattle of the Scottish and Welsh mountains. 
The Alderney, with its crumpled horn, is found on the 
southern coast ; while the polled, or hornless, cattle prevail 
in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Galloway, whence they were first 
derived. 

These leading breeds, however, have been intermingled in 
every possible way. They are found pure only in their 
native districts, or on the estate of some wealthy and spirited 
individuals. Each county has its own mongrel breed, often 
difficult to be described, and not always to be traced — 
neglected enough, yet suited to the soil and the climate ; and 
among small farmers, maintaining their station, in spite of 
attempts at improvements by the intermixture or the substi 
tution of foreign varieties. 

Much dispute has arisen as to the original breed of British 
cattle. The battle has been sharply fought between the 
advocates of the middle and of the long-horns. The short- 
horns and the polls are out of the lists ; the latter, although 
it has existed in certain districts from time immemorial, being 
probably an accidental variety. The weight of argument 



THE BRITISH OX. 



appears at present to rest with the middle horns ; the long- 
horns being evidently of Irish extraction. 

Great Britain has shared 'the fate of other nations, and 
oftener than they been overrun and subjugated by invaders. 
As the natives 
retreated they 
carried with 
them some 
portion of their 
property, con- 
sisting, in the 
remote and 
early times, 
principally of 
cattle. They 
drove along 

with them as many as they could, when they retired to the 
fortresses of North Devon and Cornwall, or the mountainous 
region of Wales, or when they took refuge in the retirement 
of East' Sussex ; and there, retaining all their prejudices, 
manners, and customs, were jealous of the preservation of 
that which reminded them of their native country before it 
yielded to a foreign yoke. 

In this way was preserved the ancient breed of British 
cattle. Difference of climate produced some change, particu- 
larly in their bulk. The rich pasturage of Sussex fattened 
the ox into its superior size and weight. The plentiful, but 
not so luxuriant, herbage of the north of Devon produced a 
smaller and more active animal ; while the privations of 
"Wales lessened the bulk and thickened the hide of the Welsh 




THE WELL-FED BEASTS. 



20 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

stock. As for Scotland, it set its invaders at defiance ; or 
its inhabitants retreated for a while, and soon turned again 
on their pursuers. They were proud of their country, and 
of their cattle, their choicest possession ; and there, also, the 
cattle were preserved, unmixed and undegenerated. 

Thence it has resulted, that in Devon, in Sussex, in Wales, 
and in Scotland, the cattle have been the same from time 
immemorial; while in all the eastern coasts and through 
every district of England, the breed of cattle degenerated, or 
lost its original character ; it consisted of animals brought 
from all the neighboring, and some remote districts, mingled 
in every possible variety, yet conforming to the soil and the 
climate. 

Careful observations will establish the fact, that the 
cattle in Devonshire, Sussex, Wales, and Scotland are essen- 
tially the same. They are middle horned ; not extraordinary 
milkers, and remarkable for the quality rather than the 
quantity of their milk ; active at work, and with an unequalled 
aptitude to fatten. They have all the characters of the same 
breed, changed by soil, climate, and time, yet little changed 
by man. The color, even, may be almost traced, namely : 
the red of the Devon, the Sussex, and the Hereford ; and 
where only the black are now found, the recollection of the 
red prevails. 

As this volume is intended especially for the farmers of 
our own country, it is deemed unnecessary in this connection 
to present any thing additional under the present head, except 
the names of the prominent species of British, cattle. These 
are, commencing with the middle horns, the North Devon, 
the Hereford, the Sussex, the Welsh (with the varieties of 



AMERICAN CATTLE. 21 

the Pembrokeshire, the Glamorganshire, the Radnor black, 
the Anglesea and some others) ; and the Scotch with its chief 
varieties, the West Highlanders, the North Highlanders, the 
North Eastern, the Fife, the Ayrshire, and the Galloways. 

As to the long horns, which came originally from Craven, 
in Yorkshire, it may be remarked that this breed has been 
rapidly disappearing of late, and has everywhere given place 
to better kinds. Of this species there are — or perhaps were — 
two leading classes, the Lancashire and the Leicestershire 
improved. 

Of the short horns, the leading breeds are the Dutch, the 
Holderness, the Teeswater, the Yorkshire, the Durham, the 
Northumberland, and some others. 



AMERICAN CATTLE. 

The breeds of cattle which stock the farms of the United 
States are all derived from Europe, and, with few exceptions, 
from Great Britain. The highest breeds at the present time 
are of comparatively recent origin, since the great improve- 
ments in breeding were only commenced at about the period 
of the American Revolution. The old importations made by 
the early settlers, must consequently have been from com- 
paratively inferior grades. 

In some sections of the Union, and more particularly in 
New England, the primitive stock is thought to have under- 
gone considerable improvement ; whilst in many parts of the 
Middle, and especially of the Southern States, a greater or 
less depreciation has ensued. The prevailing stock in the 
Eastern States is believed to be derived from the North 



22 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Devons, most of the excellent marks and qualities of which 
they possess. For this reason they are very highly esteemed, 
and have been frequently called the American Devon. The 
most valuable working oxen are chiefly of this breed, which 
also contributes so largely to the best displays of beef found 
in the markets of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. By 
means of this domestic stock, and the importations still 
extensively made of selections from the short horns, and 
others of the finest European breeds, the cattle, not only of 
New England, but of ^other sections, are rapidly improving, 
especially in the Middle and Western States. 

A brief sketch of the principal breeds of American cattle, 
as well as of the grades or common stock of the country; will 
be of service to the farmer in making an intelligent selection 
with reference to the special object of pursuit — whether it be 
the dairy, the production of beef, or the raising of cattle for 
work. 

In selecting any breed, regard should be had to the 
circumstances of the individual farmer and the object to be 
pursued. The cow most profitable for the milk dairy, may 
be very unprofitable in the batter and cheese dairy, as well 
as for the production of beef ; while, for either of the latter 
objects, the cow which gave the largest quantity of milk 
might be very undesirable. A union and harmony of all 
good qualities must be secured, so far as possible. The 
farmer wants a cow that will milk well for some years ; and 
then, when dry, fatten readily and sell to the butcher for the 
highest price. These qualities, often supposed to be utterly 
incompatible, will be found united in some breeds to a 
greater extent than in others ; while some peculiarities of 



THE AYRSHIRE. 



23 



form have been found, by observation, to be better adapted 
to the production of milk and beef than others. 

It is proposed, therefore, to sketch the pure breeds now- 
found in America. 




THE AYBSHIRE. 

This breed is justly celebrated throughout Great Britain 
and this country for its excellent dairy qualities. Though 

the most recent 
in their origin, 
they are pretty 
distinct from the 
Scotch and Eng- 
lish races. In 
color, the pure 
Ary shires are 
generally red and 
white, spotted or 
mottled, not roan like many of the short horns, but often 
presenting a bright contrast of colors. They are sometimes, 
though rarely, nearly or quite all red, and sometimes black 
and white ; but the favorite color is red and white brightly 
contrasted ; and, by some, strawberry-color is preferred. The 
head is small, fine and clean ; the face long and narrow at 
the muzzle, with a sprightly, yet generally mild expression ; 
eye small, smart and lively; the horns short, fine, and 
slightly twisted upward, set wide apart at the roots ; the 
neck thin ; body enlarging from fore to hind quarters ; the 
back straight and narrow, but broad across the loin; joints 
rather loose and open ; ribs rather flat j hind quarters rather 



AN AYRSHIRE BULL. 



24 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

thin ; bone fine ; tail long, fine, and bushy at the end ; hair 
generally thin and soft; udder light color and capacious, 
extending well forward under the belly ; teats of the cow of 
medium size, generally set regularly and wide apart ; milk- 
veins prominent and well developed. The carcass of the 
pure bred Ayrshire is light, particularly the fore quarters, 
which is considered by good judges as an index of great 
milking qualities ; but the pelvis is capacious and wide over 
the hips. 

On the whole, the Ayrshire is good looking, but wants 
some of the symmetry and aptitude to fatten which charac- 
terize the short horn, which is supposed to have contributed 
to build up this valuable breed on the basis of the original 
stock of the county of Ayr, which extends along the eastern 
shore of the Firth of Clyde, in the southwestern part of 
Scotland. 

The original stock of this country are described as of a 
diminutive size, ill fed, ill shaped, and yielding but a scanty 
return in milk. They were mostly of a black color, with 
large stripes of white along the chine and ridge of their 
backs, about the flanks, and on their faces.. Their horns 
were high and crooked, having deep ringlets at the root — the 
surest proof that they were but scantily fed ; the chine of 
their backs stood up high and narrow ; their sides were lank, 
short, and thin ; their hides thick and adhering to the bones ; 
their pile was coarse and open ; and few of them gave more 
than six or eight quarts of milk a day when in their best 
condition, or weighed, when fat, more than from a hundred 
to a hundred and sixty pounds avoirdupois, rejecting offal. 

A wonderful change has since been made in the condition, 



THE AYSRHIRE. 25 

aspect, and qualities of the Ayrshire dairy stock. They are 
now almost double the size, and yield about four times the 
quantity of milk that the Ayrshire cows formerly yielded. 
A large part of this improvement is due to better feeding 
and care, but much, no doubt, to judicious crossing. Strange 
as it may seem, considering the modern origin of this 
breed, all that is certainly known touching it is, that about a 
century and a half ago there was no such breed as Ayrshire 
in Scotland. The question has therefore arisen, whether 
these cattle came entirely from a careful selection of the best 
native breed. If they did, it. is a circumstance without a 
parallel in the history of agriculture. The native breed may 
indeed be ameliorated by careful selection ; its value may be 
incalculably increased ; some good qualities, some of its best 
qualities, may be developed for the first time ; but yet there 
will be some resemblance to the original stock, and the more 
the animal is examined, the more clearly can be traced the 
characteristic points of the ancestor, although every one of 
them is improved. 

Youatt estimates the daily yield of an Ayrshire cow, for 
the first two or three months after calving, at five gallons a 
day, on an average ; for the next three months, at three 
gallons ; and for the next four months, at one gallon and a 
half. This would give eight hundred and fifty gallons as the 
annual average ; but, allowing for some unproductive cows, 
he estimates the average of a dairy at six hundred gallons a 
year for each cow. Three gallons and a half of the Ayrshire 
cow's milk will yield one and a half pounds of butter. Some 
have estimated the yield still higher. 

One of the four cows originally imported into this country 



26 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

by John P. Cushing, Esq., of Massachusetts, gave in one 
year three thousand eight hundred and sixty-four quarts, beer 
measure, or about nine hundred and sixty-six gallons, at ten 
pounds the gallon ; being an average of over ten and a half 
beer quarts a day for the entire year. The first cow of this 
breed, imported by the Massachusetts Society, for the Pro- 
motion of Agriculture, in 1837, yielded sixteen pounds of 
butter a week for several successive weeks, on grass feed 
only. It should be borne in mind, in this connection, that 
the climate of New England is less favorable to the produc- 
tion of milk than that of England and Scotland, and that no 
cow imported after arriving at maturity can be expected to 
yield as much, under the same circumstances, as one bred on 
the spot where the trial is made, and perfectly acclimated. 

On excellent authority, the most approved shape and 
marks of a good dairy cow are as follows : Head small, long, 
and narrow toward the muzzle ; horns small, clear, bent, and 
placed at considerable distance from each other ; eyes not 
large, but brisk and lively ; neck slender and long, tapering 
toward the head, with a little loose skin below; shoulders 
and fore quarters light and thin ; hind quarters large and 
broad ; back straight, and joints slack and open ; carcass deep 
in the rib ; tail small and long, reaching to the heels ; legs 
small and short, with firm joints ; udder square, but a little 
oblong, stretching forward, thin skinned and capacious, but 
not low hung ; teats or paps small, pointing outward, and at 
a considerable distance from each other ; milk-veins capacious 
and prominent ; skin loose, thin, and soft like a glove ; hair 
short, soft, and woolly ; general figure, when in flesh, hand- 
some and well proportioned. 



THE AYRSHIRE. 27 

If this description of the Ayrshire cow be correct, it will 
be seen that her head and neck are remarkably clean and 
fine, the latter swelling gradually toward the shoulders, both, 
parts being unencumbered with superfluous flesh. The same 
general form extends backward, the fore quarters being light, 
the shoulders thin, and the carcass swelling out toward the 
hind quarters, so that when standing in front of her it has the 
form of a blunted wedge. Such a structure indicates very 
fully developed digestive organs, which exert a powerful 
influence on all the functions of the body, and especially on 
the secretion of the milky glands, accompanied with milk- 
veins and udder partaking of the same character as the 
stomach and viscera, being large and capacious, while the 
external skin and interior walls of the milk-glands are thin 
and elastic, and all parts arranged in a manner especially 
adapted for the production of milk. 

A cow with these marks will generally be of a quiet and 
docile temper, which greatly increases her value. A cow 
that is of a quiet and contented disposition feeds at ease, is 
milked with ease, and yields more than one of an opposite 
temperament ; while, after she is past her usefulness as a 
milker, she will easily take on fat, and make fine beef and a 
good quantity of tallow, because she feeds freely, and when 
dry the food which went to make milk is converted into fat 
and flesh. But there is no breed of cows with which gentle- 
ness of treatment is so indispensable as with the Ayrshire, 
on account of her naturally nervous temperament. If she 
receives other than kind and gentle treatment, she will often 
resent it with angry looks and gestures, and withhold her 
milk ; and if such treatment is long continued, will dry up ; 



28 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

but she willingly and easily yields it to the hand that fondles 
her, and all her looks and movements toward her friends are 
quiet and mild. 

The Ayrshires in their native country are generally bred 
for the dairy, and for no other object ; and the cows have 
justly obtained a* world-wide reputation for this quality. 
The oxen are, however, very fair as working cattle, though 
they cannot be said to excel other breeds in this respect. 
The Ayrshire steer may be fed and turned at three years 
old ; but for feeding purposes the Ayrshires are greatly 
improved by a cross with the short horns, provided regard is 
had to the size of the animal. It is the opinion of good 
breeders that a high-bred short horn bull and a large-sized 
Ayrshire cow will produce a calf which will come to maturity 
earlier, and attain greater weight, and sell for more money 
than a pure-bred Ayrshire, This cross, with feeding from 
the start, may be sold fat at two or three years old, the 
improvement being most noticeable in the earlier maturity 
and size. 

In the cross with the short horn, the form ordinarily 
becomes more symmetrical, while there is, perhaps, little risk 
of lessening the milking qualities of the offspring, if sufficient 
regard is paid to the selection of the individual animals to 
breed from. It is thought by some that in the breeding of 
animals it is the male which gives the external form, or the 
bony and muscular system of the young, while the female 
imparts the respiratory organs, the circulation of the blood, 
the organs of secretion, and the like. 

If this principle be true, it follows that the milking quali- 
ties come chiefly from the mother, and that the bull cannot 



THE AYRSHIRE. 29 

materially alter the conditions which determine the transmis- 
sion of these qualities, especially when they are as strongly 
marked as they are in this breed. 

Until, however, certain mooted questions connected with 
breeding are definitively settled, it is the safest plan, in 
breeding for the dairy, to adhere to the rule of selecting only 
animals whose progenitors on both sides have been dis- 
tinguished for their milking qualities. 

It may be stated, in conclusion, that for purely dairy 
purposes the Ayrshire cow deserves the first place. In 
consequence of her small, symmetrical, and compact body, 
combined with a well-formed chest and a capacious stomach, 
there is little waste, comparatively speaking, through the 
respiratory system ; while at the same time there is very 
complete assimilation of the food, and thus she converts a 
very large proportion of her food into milk. So remarkable 
is this fact, that all dairy farmers who have any experience 
on the point, agree in stating that an Ayrshire cow generally 
gives a larger return of milk for the food consumed than a 
cow of any other breed. The absolute quality* may not be 
so great, but it is obtained at a less cost ; and this is the 
point upon which the question of profit depends. The best 
milkers which have been known in this country were grade 
Ayrshires, larger in size than the pure bloods, but still 
sufficiently high grades to give certain signs of their origin. 
This grade would seem to possess the advantage of com- 
bining, to some extent, the two qualities of milking and 
adaptation to beef; and this is no small recommendation of 
the stock to farmers situated as American farmers are, who 



30 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

wish for milk for some years and then to turn over to the 
butcher. 

THE JEKSEY. 

These cattle are now widely known in this country. Many 
of them have been imported from an island of the same name 
in the British Channel, near the coast of France, and they, 
may now be considered, for all practical purposes, as fully 
acclimated. They were first introduced, upward of thirty 
years ago, from the channel islands, Alderney, Guernsey, 
and Jersey. 

This race is supposed to have been originally derived from 
Normandy, in the northern part of France. The cows have 
been long celebrated for the production of very rich milk and 
cream, but till within the last twenty-five or thirty years 
they were comparatively coarse, ugly, and ill-shaped. Im- 
provements have, been very marked, but the form of the 
animal is still far from satisfying the eye. 

The head of the pure Jersey is fine and tapering, the cheek 
small, the throat clean, the muzzle fine and encircled with a 
light stripe, the nostril high and open ; the horns smooth, 
crumpled, but not very thick at the base, tapering and tipped 
with black ; ears small and thin, deep orange color inside ; 
eyes full and placid ; neck straight and fine ; chest broad and 
deep ; barrel hoofed, broad and deep, well ribbed up ; back 
straight from the withers to the hip, and from the top of the 
hip to the setting of the tail ; tail fine, at right angles with 
the back, and hanging down to the hocks.; skin thin, light 
color, and mellow, covered with fine soft hair ; fore legs 
short, straight and fine below the knee, arm swelling and full 



THE JERSEY. 31 

above ; hind quarters long and well filled ; hind legs short 
and straight below the hocks, with bones rather fine, 
squarely placed, and not too close together ; hoofs small ; 
udder full in size, in line with the belly, extending well up 
behind ; teats of medium size, squarely placed and wide 
apart, and milk- veins very prominent. The color is generally 
cream, dun, or yellow, with more or less of white, and the 
fine head and neck give the cows and heifers a fawn-like 
appearance, and make them objects of attraction in the park ; 
but the hind quarters are often too narrow to work well, 
particularly to those who judge animals by the amount of 
fat which they carry. 

It should be borne in mind, however, that a good race of 
animals is not always the most beautiful, as that term is 
generally understood. Beauty in stock has no invariable 
standard. In the estimation of some, it results mainly from 
fine forms, small bones, and close, compact frames ; while 
others consider that structure the mtfst perfect, and therefore 
the most beautiful, which is best adapted to the use for which 
it is destined. With such, beauty is relative. It is not the 
same in an animal designed for beef and in one designed for 
the dairy or for work. The beauty of a milch cow is the 
result of her good qualities. Large milkers are very rarely 
cows that please the eye of any but a skillful judge. They 
are generally poor, since their food goes mainly to the 
production of milk, and because they are selected with less 
regard to form than to good milking qualities. The prevail- 
ing opinion as to the beauty of the Jersey, is based on the 
general appearance of the cow when in milk — no experiments 
in feeding exclusively for beef having been made public, and 



32 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

no opportunity to form a correct judgment from actual 
observation having been furnished ; and it must be confessed 
that the general appearance of the breed would amply justify 
the hasty conclusion. 

The bulls are usually very different in character and dispo- 
sition from the cows, and are much inclined to become restive 
and cross at the age of two or three years, unless their 
treatment is uniformly gentle and firm. 

The Jersey is to be regarded as a dairy breed, and that 
almost exclusively. It would not be sought for large dairies 
kept for the supply of milk to cities ; for, though the quality 
would gratify the customer, the quantity would not satisfy 
the owner. The place of the Jersey cow is rather in private 
establishments, where the supply of cream and butter is a 
sufficient object ; or, in limited numbers, to add richness to 
the milk of large butter dairies. Even one or two good 
Jersey cows with a herd of fifteen or twenty, will make a 
great difference in the quality of the milk and butter of the 
whole establishment ; and they would probably be profitable 
for this, if for no other object. 



THE SHORT HORNS. 

No breed of cattle has commanded more universal admira- 
tion during the last half century than the improved short 
horns, whose origin can be traced back for nearly a hundred 
years. According to the best authorities, the stock which 
formed the basis of improvement existed equally in York- 
shire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, and the adjoining 
counties; and the pre-eminence was .accorded to Durham, 



THE SHORT HORNS. 



33 



which gave its name to the race, from the more correct 
principles of breeding which seem to have obtained there. 

There is a dispute among the most eminent breeders as to 
how far it owes its origin to early importations from Holland, 
whence many superior animals were brought for the purpose 
of improving the old long horned breed. A large race of 
cattle had existed for many years on the western shores of 
the continent of Europe. As early as 1633, they were 
imported from Denmark into New England in considerable 
numbers, and thus laid the foundation of a valuable stock in 

this country. 
They extend- 
ed along the 
coast, it is 
said, through 
Holland to 
Si^ France. The 





A SHORT HORN BULL. 



jp dairy formed 
a prominent 
branch of 

farming at a very early date in Holland, and experience led 
to the greatest care in the choice and breeding of dairy 
stock. From these cattle many selections were made to 
cross over to the counties of York and Durham. The 
prevailing color of. the large Dutch cattle was black and 
white, beautifully contrasted. 

The cattle produced by these crosses a century ago were 
known by the name of "Dutch." The cows selected for 
crossing with the early imported Dutch bulls were generally 
long horned, large boned, coarse animals, a fair type of which 



34 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

was found in the old " Holderness" breed of Yorkshire — slow 
feeders, strong in the shoulder, defective in the fore quarter, 
and not very profitable to the butcher, their meat being coarse 
and uninviting. Their milking qualities were good, surpass- 
ing those, probably, of the improved short horns. What- 
ever may be the truth with regard to these crosses, and 
however far they proved effective in creating or laying the 
foundation of the modern improved short horns, the results 
of the efforts made in Yorkshire and some of the adjoining 
counties were never so satisfactory to the best judges as 
those of the breeders along the Tees, who selected animals 
with greater reference to fineness of bone and symmetry of 
form, and the animals they bred soon took the lead and 
excited great emulation in improvement. 

Importations of short horns have been frequent and exten- 
sive into the United States within the last few years, and 
this famous breed is now pretty generally diffused over the 
country. 

The high-bred short horn is easily prepared for a show, and, 
as fat will cover faults, the temptation is often too great to be 
resisted ; and hence it is not uncommon to see the finest 
animals rendered unfit for breeding purposes by over-feeding. 
The race is susceptible of breeding for the production of milk, 
as several families show, and great milkers have often been 
known among pure-bred animals; but it is more common 
to find it bred mainly for the butcher, and kept accordingly. 
It is, however, a well-known fact, that the dairies of London 
are stocked chiefly with short horns and Yorkshires, or high 
grades between them, which, after being milked as long as 
profitable, feed equal, or nearly so, to pure-bred short horns. 



THE SHORT HORNS. 35 

It has been said, by very good authority, that the short horns 
improve every breed with which they cross. 

The desirable characteristics of the short horn bull may be 
summed up, according to the judgment of the best breeders, 
as follows : He should have a short but fine head, very broad 
across the eyes, tapering to the nose, with a nostril full and 
prominent ; the nose itself should be of a rich flesh color ; eyes 
bright and mild ; ears somewhat large and thin ; horns slightly 
covered and rather flat, well 'set on ; a long, broad, muscular 
neck ; chest wide, deep, and projecting ; shoulders fine, oblique, 
well formed into the chine ; fore legs short, with upper arm 
large and powerful ; barrel round, deep, well-ribbed horns ; hips 
wide and level ; back straight from the withers to the setting 
on of the tail, but short from hips to chine ; skin soft and 
velvety to the touch ; moderately thick hair, plentiful, soft, 
and mossy. The cow has the same points in. the main, but 
her head is finer, longer, and more tapering ; neck thinner 
and lighter, and shoulders more narrow across the chine. 

The astonishing precocity of the short horns, their remark- 
able aptitude to fatten, the perfection of their forms, and the 
fineness of their bony structure, give them an advantage 
over most other races when the object of breeding is for the 
shambles. JSTo animal of any other breed can so rapidly 
transform the stock of any section around him as the im- 
proved short horn bull. 

It does not, however, follow that the high-bred short horns 
are unexceptionable, even for beef. The very exaggeration, 
so to speak, of the qualities which make them so valuable for 
the improvement of other and less perfect races, may become 
a fault when wanted for the table. The very rSpidity with 



36 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

which they increase in size is thought by some to prevent 
their meat from ripening up sufficiently before being hurried 
off to the butcher. The disproportion of the fatty to the* 
muscular flesh, found in this to a greater extent than in 
races coming more slowly to maturity, makes the meat of the 
thorough-bred short horn, in the estimation of some, less 
agreeable to £he taste, and less profitable to the consumer ; 
since the nitrogenous compounds, true sources of nutriment, 
are found in less quantity than in the meat of animals not so 
highly bred. 

In sections where the climate is moist, and the food 
abundant and rich, some families of the short horns may be 
valuable for the dairy ; but they are most frequently bred ex- 
clusively for beef in this country, and in sections where they 
have attained the highest perfection of form and beauty, so 
little is thought of their milking qualities that they are often 
not milked at all, the calf being allowed to run with the dam. 



THE DUTCH. 

This short horned race, in the opinion of many — as has 
been previously remarked — contributed largely, about a 
century ago, to build up the Durham or Teeswater stock. 
It has been bred with special reference to dairy qualities, 
and is eminently adapted to supply the wants of the dairy 
farmer. The cows of North Holland not only give a large 
quantity, but also a very good quality, so that a yield of 
sixteen to twenty-five quarts, wine measure, at every milking, 
is not rare. 

The principles upon which .the inhabitants of Holland 
practise, in selecting a cow from which to breed, are as 



THE DUTCH. 3t 

follows : She should have, they say, considerable size — not 
less than four and a half or five feet girth, with a length of 
body corresponding; legs proportionally short ; a finely 
formed head, with a forehead or face somewhat concave ; 
clear, large, mild and sparkling eyes, yet with no expression 
of wildness ; tolerably large and stout ears, standing out from 
the head ; fine, well curved horns ; a rather short, than long, 
thick, broad neck, well set against the chest and withers ; 
the front part of the breast and shoulders must be broad and 
fleshy ; the low-hanging dewlap must be soft to the touch ; 
the back and loins must be properly projected, somewhat 
broad, the bones not too sharp, but well covered with flesh ; 
the animal should have long curved ribs, which form a broad 
breast bone; the body must be round and deep, but not 
sunken into a hanging belly ; the rump must not be uneven, 
the hip-bones should not stand out too broad and spreading, 
but all the parts should be level and well filled up ; a fine tail, 
set moderately high up and tolerably long, but slender, with a 
thick, bushy tuft of hair at the end, hanging down below the 
hocks ; the legs must be short and low, but strong in the 
bony structure ; the knees broad, with flexible joints ; the 
muscles and sinews must be firm and sound, the hoofs broad 
and flat, and the position of the legs natural, not too close 
and crowded ; the hide, covered with fine glossy hair, must 
be soft and mellow to the touch, and set loose upon the body. 
A large, rather long, white and loose udder, extending well 
back, with four long teats, serves also as a characteristic 
mark of a good milch cow. Large and prominent milk- 
veins must extend from the navel back to the udder ; the 
belly of a good milch cow should not be too de|p and hang- 



38 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

ing. The color of the North Dutch cattle is mostly varie- 
gated. Cows with only one color are no favorites. Red or 
black variegated, gray and blue variegated, roan, spotted and 
white variegated cows, are especially liked 



THE HEREFOK2>. 

These cattle derive their name from a county in the 
western part of England. Their general characteristics are a 
white face, sometimes mottled; white throat, the white 
generally extending back on the neck, and sometimes, though 
rarely, still further along on the back. The color of the rest 
of the body is red, generally dark, but sometimes light. 
Eighty years ago the best Hereford cattle were mottled or 
roan all over ; and some of the best herds, down to a com- 
paratively recent period, were either all mottled, or had the 
mottled or speckled face. 

The expression of the face is mild and lively ; the forehead 
open, broad, and large ; the eyes bright and full of vivacity ; 
the horns glossy, slender and spreading; the head small, 
though larger than, and not quite so clear as, that of the 
Devons ; the lower jaw fine ; neck long and slender ; chest 
deep ; breast-bone large, prominent, and very muscular ; the 
shoulder-blade light ; shoulder full and soft ; brisket and loins 
large ; hips well developed, and on a level with the chine ; 
hind quarters long and well filled in ; buttocks on a level 
with the back, neither falling off nor raised above the hind 
quarters ; tail slender, well set on ; hair fine and soft ; body 
round and full ; carcass deep and well formed, or cylindrical ; 
bone small ; thigh short and well made ; legs short and 
straight, and slender below the knee; as handlers very 



THE HEREFORD. 39 

excellent, especially mellow to the touch on the back, the 
shoulder, and along the sides, the skin being soft, flexible, of 
medium thickness, rolling on the neck and the hips ; hair 
bright ; face almost bare, which is characteristic of pure 
Herefords. 

They belong to the middle horned division of the cattle of 
Great Britain, to which they are indigenous, and have been 
improved within the last century by careful selections. 

Hereford oxen are excellent animals, less active but 
stronger than the Devons, and very free and docile. The 
demand for Herefords for beef prevents their being much 
used for work in their native county, and the farmers there 
generally use horses instead of oxen. 

It is generally conceded that the qualities in which Here- 
fords stand pre-eminent among the middle-sized breeds are in 
the production of oxen and their superiority of flesh. On 
these points there is little chance of their being excelled. It 
should, however, be borne in mind that the best oxen are not 
produced from the largest cows ; nor is a superior quality of 
flesh, such as is considered very soft to the touch, with thin 
skin. It is the union of these two qualities which often 
characterizes the short horns ; but Hereford breeders — as a 
recent writer remarks— should endeavor to maintain a higher 
standard of excellence — that for which the best of the breed 
have always been esteemed — a moderately thick, mellow 
hide, with a well apportioned combination of softness with 
elasticity. A sufficiency of hair is also desirable, and if 
accompanied with a disposition to curl moderately, it is more 
in esteem ; but that which has a harsh and wiry feel is 
objectionable, 



40 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

In point of symmetry and beauty of form, the well bred 
Herefords may be classed with the improved short horns, 
though they arrive somewhat more slowly at maturity, and 
never attain such weight. Like the improved short horns, 
they are chiefly bred for beef, and their beef is of the best 
quality in the English markets, commanding the highest 
price of any,, except, perhaps, the West Highlanders. The 
short horn produces more beef at the same age than the 
Hereford, but consumes more food in proportion. 

The Herefords are far less generally spread over England 
than the improved short horns. They have seldom been bred 
for milk, as some families of the latter have ; and it is not very 
unusual to find pure-bred cows incapable of supplying milk 
sufficient to nourish their calves. They have been imported 
to this country to some extent, and several fine herds exist 
in different sections ; the earliest importations being those of 
Henry Clay, of Kentucky, in 181T. 

The want of care and attention to the udder, soon after 
calving, especially if the cow be on luxuriant grass, often 
injures her milking properties exceedingly. The practice 
in the county of Hereford has generally been to let the 
calves suckle from four to six months, and bull calves often 
run eight months with the cow. But their dairy qualities 
are perhaps as good as those of any cattle whose fattening 
properties have been so carefully developed ; and, though it 
is probable that they could be bred for milk with proper care 
and attention, yet, as this change would be at the expense of 
other qualities equally valuable, it would evidently be wiser 
to resort to other stock for the dairy. 




THE NORTH DEVONS. 41 

THE NOKTH DEVONS. 

This beautiful race of middle horned cattle dates further 
back than any well established breed among us. It goes 

generally _- .^jBjj M^^^^^ Bli^M fe - 

under the 
simple 
name of 
Devon; but 
the cattle 
of the south- 
ern part of 
the county, 

from which A north devon steer. 

the race derives its name, differ somewhat from those of the 
northern, having a larger and coarser frame, and far less 
tendency to fatten, though their dairy qualities are superior. 
The North Devons are remarkable for hardihood, symmetry 
and beauty, and are generally bred for work and for beef, 
rather than for the dairy. The head is fine and well set on ; 
the horns of medium length, generally curved ; color usually 
bright blood-red, but sometimes inclining to yellow; skin 
thin and orange-yellow ; hair of medium length, soft and 
silky, making the animals remarkable as handlers ; muzzle 
of the nose white ; eyes full and mild ; ears yellowish, or 
orange-color inside, of moderate size ; neck rather long, with 
little dewlap; shoulders oblique; legs small and straight, 
with feet in proportion ; chest of good width ; ribs round and 
expanded ; loins of first-rate quality, long, wide, and fleshy ; 
hips round, of medium width ; rump level ; tail full near the 



42 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

setting on, tapering to the tip ; thighs of the bull and ox 
muscular and full, and high in the flank, though in the cow 
sometimes thought to be light ; the size medium, generally 
called small. The proportion of meat on the valuable parts 
is greater, and the offal less, than on most other breeds, while 
it is well settled that they consume less food in its produc- 
tion. The Devons are popular with the Smithfield butchers, 
and their beef is well marbled or grained. 

As working oxen, the Devons perhaps excel all other races 
in quickness, docility, beauty, and the ease with which they 
are matched. With a reasonable load, they are said to be 
equal to horses as walkers on the road, and when they are 
no longer wanted for work they fatten easily and turn well. 

As milkers, they do not excel — perhaps they may be said 
not to equal — the other breeds, and they have a reputation 
of being decidedly below the average. In their native 
country the general average of the dairy is one pound of 
butter a day during the summer. They are bred for beef 
and for work, and not for the dairy ; and their yield <of milk 
is small, though of a rich quality. Several animals, however, 
of the celebrated Patterson herd would have been remarkable 
as milkers even among good milking stock. 

Still, the faults of the North Devon cow, considered as a 
dairy animal, are too marked to be overlooked. The 
rotundity of form and compactness of frame, though they 
contribute to her remarkable beauty, constitute an objec- 
tion to her for this purpose : since it is generally admitted 
that the peculiarity of form which disposes an animal to take 
on fat is somewhat incompatible with good milking qualities. 
On this account, Youatt — who is standard authority in such 



NATIVE CATTLE. 43 

matters — says that for the dairy the North Devon must be 
acknowledged to be inferior to several other breeds. The 
milk is good, and yields more than the average proportion 
of cream and butter ; but it is deficient in quantity. He also 
maintains that its property as a milker could not be im- 
proved without producing a certain detriment to its grazing 
qualities. Distinguished Devon breeders themselves have 
come to the same conclusion upon this point. The improved 
North Devon cow may be classed, in this respect, with the 
Hereford, neither of which has well developed milk- vessels — 
a point of the utmost consequence to the practical dairyman. 



NATIVE CATTLE. 

The foregoing comprise the pure-bred races in America ; 
for, though other and well-established breeds — like the Gal- 
loways, the long horns, the Spanish, and others — have, at 
times, been imported, and have had some influence on our 
American stock, yet they have not been kept distinct to such 
an extent as to become the prevailing stock of any particular 
section. 

A large proportion, however — by 5 far the largest propor- 
tion, indeed — of the cattle known among us cannot be in- 
cluded under any of the races to which allusion has been 
made ; and to the consideration of this class the present 
article is devoted. 

The term "breed" — as was set forth in the author's 
treatise, " The Horse and his Diseases" — when properly 
understood, applies only to animals of the same species, 
possessing, besides the general characteristics of that species, 
other characteristics peculiar to themselves, which they owe 



44 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

to the influence of soil, climate, nourishment, and the habits 
of life to which they are subjected, and which they transmit 
with certainty to their progeny. The characteristics of 
certain breeds or families are so well marked, that, if an 
individual supposed to belong to any one of them were to 
produce an offspring not possessing them, or possessing them 
only in part, with others not belonging to the breed, it 
would be just ground for suspecting a want of purity of 
blood. 

In this view, no grade animals, and no animals destitute 
of fixed peculiarities or characteristics which they share in 
common with all other animals of the class of which they 
are a type, and which they are capable of transmitting with 
certainty to their descendants, can be recognized by breeders 
as belonging to any one distinct race, breed, or family. 

The term " native" is applied to a vast majority of our 
American cattle, which, though born on the soil, and thus in 
one sense natives, do not constitute a breed, race, or family, 
as correctly understood by breeders. They do not possess 
characteristics peculiar to them all, which they transmit with 
any certainty to their Offspring, either of form, size, color, 
milking or working properties. 

But, though an animal may be made up of a mixture of 
blood almost to impurity, it does not follow that, for specific 
purposes, it may not, as an individual animal, be one of the 
best of the species. Indeed, for particular purposes, animals 
might be selected from among those commonly called 
" natives" in New England, and " scrubs" at the west and 
south, equal, and perhaps superior, to any among the races 
produced by the most skillful breeding. 



NATIVE CATTLE. 



45 



There can be no objection, therefore, to the use of the 
term "native," when it is understood as descriptive of no 
known breed, but only as applied to the common stock of a 
country, which does not constitute a breed. But perhaps 
the entire class of animals commonly called " natives" would 
be more accurately described as grades ; since they are well 
known to have sprung from a great variety of cattle procured 
at different times and in different places on the continent of 
Europe, in England, and in the Spanish West Indies, brought 
together without any regard to fixed principles of breeding, 
but only from individual convenience, and by accident. 

The first importations to this country were doubtless those 
taken to Yirginia previous to 1609, though the exact date 
of their arrival is not known. Several cows were carried 
there from the West Indies in 1610, and in the next year no 
less than one hundred arrived there from abroad. 




DRAFT OXEN. 



The earliest cattle imported into New England arrived in 
1624. At the division of cattle which took place three years 



46 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

after, one or two are distinctly described as black, or black 
and white, others as brindle, showing that there was no 
uniformity of color. Soon after this, a large number of cattle 
were brought over from England for the settlers at Salem. 
These importations formed the original stock of Massachu- 
setts. 

In It 25, the first importation was made into ISTew York 
from Holland by the Dutch West India Company, and the 
foundation was then laid for an exceedingly valuable race of 
animals, which subsequent importations from the same 
country, as well as from England, have greatly improved. 
The points and value of this race in its purity have been 
already adverted to under the head of the Dutch cattle. 

In 1627, cattle were brought from Sweden to the settle- 
ments on the Delaware, by the Swedish West India 
Company. In 1631, 1632, and 1633, several importations 
were made into New Hampshire by Captain John Mason, 
who, with Gorges, had procured the patent of large tracts of 
land in the vicinity of the Piscataqua river, and who imme- 
diately formed settlements there. The object of Mason was 
to carry on the manufacture of potash. Eor this purpose he 
employed the Danes ; and it was in his voyage to and from 
Denmark that he procured many Danish cattle and horses, 
which were subsequently scattered over that entire region, 
large numbers being driven to the vicinity of Boston and 
sold. These Danish cattle are described as large and coarse, 
of a yellow color ; and it is supposed that they were pro- 
cured by Mason as being best capable of enduring the 
severity of the climate and the hardships to which they 
would be subjected. 



NATIVE CATTLE. 4Y 

However this may have been, they very soon spread 
among the colonists of the Massachusetts Bay, and have 
undoubtedly left their marks on the stock of the New 
England and the Middle States, which exist to some extent 
even to the present day, mixed in with an infinite multitude 
of crosses with the Devons, the Dutch cattle already alluded 
to, the black cattle of Spain and Wales, and the long horn 
and the short horn — most of which crosses were accidental, 
or due to local circumstances or individual convenience. 
Many of these cattle, the descendants of such crosses, are of a 
very high order of merit ; but to which particular cross this 
is due, it is impossible to say. They generally make hardy, 
strong, and docile oxen, easily broken to the yoke and quick 
to work, with a fair tendency to fatten when well fed ; while 
the cows, though often ill-shaped, are sometimes remarkably 
good milkers, especially as regards the quantity which they 
give. 

Indeed, it has been remarked by excellent judges of stock, 
that if they desired to select a dairy of cows for milk for sale, 
they would make their selection from cows commonly called 
native, in preference to pure-bred animals of any of the 
established breeds, and that they believed they should find 
such a dairy the most profitable. 

In color, the natives, made up as already indicated, are 
exceedingly various. The old Denmarks, which to a con- 
siderable extent laid the foundation of the stock of Maine 
and New Hampshire, were light yellow. The Hutch of New 
York and the Middle States, were black and white ; the 
Spanish and Welsh were generally black ; the Devons, which 
are supposed to have laid the foundation of the stock of some 



48 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES 

of the States, were red. Crosses of the Denmark with the 
Spanish and Welsh naturally made a dark brindle ; crosses 
of the Devon often made a lighter or yellowish brindle ; 
while the more- recent importations of Jerseys and short 
horns have generally produced a beautiful spotted progeny. 
The deep red has long been a favorite color in New England; 
but the prejudice in its favor is fast giving way to more 
variegated colors. 

Among the earlier importations into this country were 
also several varieties of hornless cattle, which have been 
kept measurably distinct in some sections ; or where they 
have been crossed with the common stock there has been a 
tendency to produce hornless grades. These are not unfre- 
quently known as "buffalo cattle." They were, in many 
cases, supposed to belong to the Galloway breed ; or, which 
is more likely, to the Suffolk dun, a variety of the Galloway, 
and a far better milking stock than the Galloways, from 
which, it sprung. These polled, or hornless cattle vary in 
color and qualities, but they are usually very good milkers 
when well kept, and many of them fatten well, and attain 
good weight. 

The Hungarian cattle have also been imported, to some 
extent, into different parts of the country, and have been 
crossed upon the natives with some success. Many other 
strains of blood from different breeds have also contributed 
to build up the common stock of the country of the present 
day ; and there can be no question that its appearance and 
value have been largely improved during the last quarter of 
a century, nor that improvements are still in progress which 
will lead to satisfactory results in the future. 



NATIVE CATTLE. 49 

But, though we already have an exceedingly valuable 
foundation for improvement, no one will pretend to deny 
that our cattle, as a whole, are susceptible of it in many 
respects.- They possess neither the size, the symmetry, nor 
the early maturity of the short horns ; they do not, as a 
general thing, possess the fineness of bone, the beauty of 
form and color, nor the activity of the Devons or the Here- 
fords ; they do not possess that uniform richness of milk, 
united with generous quality, of the Ayrshires, nor the 
surpassing richness of milk of the Jerseys : but, above all, 
they do not possess the power of transmitting the many good 
qualities which they often have to their offspring — which is 
the characteristic of all well established breeds. 

It is equally certain, in the opinion of many good judges, 
that the dairy stock of the country has not been materially 
improved in its intrinsic good qualities during the last thirty 
or forty years. This may not be true of certain sections, 
where the dairy has been made a special object of pursuit, 
and where the custom of raising the best male calves of the 
neighborhood, or those that came from the best dairy cows, 
and then of using only the best formed bulls, has long pre- 
vailed. Although in this way some progress has, doubtless, 
been made, there are still room and need for more. More 
attention must be paid to correct principles of breeding 
before the satisfactory results which every farmer should 
strive to reach can be attained. 

Having glanced generally at the leading breeds of cattle in 

Great Britain, and examined, more in detail, the various 

breeds in the United States, the next subject demanding 

attention is, 
4 



50 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



THE 2STATUKAL HISTOBY OF CATTLE. 




SKELETON OP THE OX AS COVEKED BY THE MUSCLES. 

1. The upper jaw-bone. 2. The nasal bone, or bone of the nose. 3. The lachrymal 
bone. 4. The malar, or cheek bone. 5. The frontal bone, or bone of the forehead. 
6. The horns, being processes or continuations of the frontal. 7. The temporal bone. 
8. The parietal bone, low in the temporal fossa. 9. The occipital bone, deeply 
depressed below the crest or ridge of the head. 10. The lower jaw. 11. The 
grinders. 12. The nippers, found on the lower jaw alone. 13. The ligament of the 
neck, and its attachments. 14. The atlas. 16. The dentata. 17. The orbits of the 
eye. 18. The vertebrae, or bones of the neck. 19. The bones of the back. 20. The 
bones of the loins. 21. The sacrum. 22. The bones of the tail. 23. The haunch 
and pelvis. 24. The eight true ribs. 25. The false ribs, with their cartilages. 
26. The sternum. 27. The scapula, or shoulder-blade. 28. The humerus, or lower 
bone of the shoulder. 29. The radius, or principal bone of the arm. 40. The 
ulna, its upper part forming the elbow. 41. The small bones of the knee. 42. The 
large metacarpal or shank bone. 43. The smaller or splint bone. 44. The sessa- 
moid bones. 45. The bifurcation at the pasterns, and the two larger pasterns to 
each foot. 46. The two smaller pasterns to each foot. 47. The two coffin bones to 
each foot. 48. The navicular bones. 49. The thigh bone. 50. The patella, or bone 
of the knee. 51. The tibia, or proper leg bone. 52. The point of the hock. 53. The 
small bones of the hock. 54. The metatarsals, or larger bones of the hind leg. 
55. The pasterns and feet. 



Division. Vertebrata — possessing a back-bone. 
Class. Mammalia — such as give suck. 



FORMATION OP TEETH. 51 



Order. Ruminantia — chewing the cud. 
Family. With horns. 
Genus. Bovidce — the ox tribe. 

Of this tribe there are eight species : 
Bos urus, the ancient bison. 
Bos bison, the American buffalo. 
Bos moschatus, the musk ox. 
Bos frontalis, the gayal. 
Bos grunniens, the grunting ox. 
Bos coffer, the South African buffalo. 
Bo» bubalus, the common buffalo. 
Bos taurus, the common domestic ox. 



GESTATION". 

The usual period of pregnancy in a cow is nine calendar 
months, and something over : at times as much as three 
weeks. With one thousand and thirty one cows, whose 
gestations were carefully observed in France, the average 
period was about two hundred and eighty-five days. 



FORMATION OF TEETH. 

It is of the utmost importance to be able to judge of the 
age of a cow. Few farmers wish to purchase a cow for the 
dairy after she has passed her prime, which will ordinarily 
be at the age of nine or ten years, varying, of course, accord- 
ing to care, feeding, &c, in the earlier part of her life. 

The common method of forming an estimate of the age of 
cattle is by an examination of the horn. At three years old, 
as a general rule, the horns are perfectly smooth ; after this, 
a ring appears near the nob, and annually afterward a new 



52 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 




TEETH AT BIRTH. 



one is formed, so that, by adding two years to the first ring, 
the age is calculated. This is a very uncertain mode of 

judging. The rings are distinct 
only in the cow ; and it is well 
known that if a heifer goes to bull 
when she is two years old, or a 
little before or after that time, a 
change takes place in the horn and 
the first ring appears ; so that a real 
three-year-old would carry the 
mark of a four-year-old. 

The rings on the horns of a bull 

are either not seen until five, or 

they cannot be traced at all ; while 

in the ox they do not appear till he is five years old, and then 

are often very indistinct. In addition to this, it is by no 

means an uncommon practice to 
file the horns, so as to make 
them smooth, and to give the 
animal the appearance of being 
much younger than it really is. 
This is, therefore, an exceedingly 
fallacious guide, and cannot be 
relied upon by any one with the 
degree of confidence desired. 

The surest > indication of the 
age in cattle, as in the horse, is 
given by the teeth. 
The calf, at birth, will usually have two incisor or front 
teeth — in some cases just appearing through the gums ; in 




SECOND WEEK. 



FORMATION OF TEETH. 



53 



others, fully set, varying as the cow falls short of, or exceeds, 
her regular time of calving. If she overruns several days, 




THKEE WEEKS. MONTH. 

the eeth will have set and attained considerable size, as 
appears in the cut representing teeth at birth. During the 
second week, a tooth will usually be added on each side, and 




FIVE TO EIGHT MONTHS. 



TEN MONTHS. 



the mouth will generally appear as in the next cut; and 
before the end of the third week, the animal will generally 
have six incisor teeth, as denoted in the cut representing 



54 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 




TWELVE MONTHS. 



teeth at the third week ; and in a week from that time the 
full number of incisors will have appeared, as seen in the 

next cut. 

These teeth are temporary, 
and are often called milk-teeth. 
Their edge is very sharp ; and 
as the animal begins to live 
upon more solid food, this edge 
becomes worn, showing the 
bony part of the tooth beneath, 
and indicates with considerable 
precision the length of time they 
have been used. The centre, 
or oldest teeth show the marks of age first, and often become 
somewhat worn before the corner teeth appear. At eight 

weeks, the four inner teeth are 
nearly as sharp as before. 
They appear worn not so much 
on the outer edge or line of the 
tooth, as inside this line ; but, 
after this, the edge begins 
gradually to lose its sharpness, 
and to present a more flattened 
surface ; while the next outer 
teeth wear down like the four 
central ones ; and at three 
months this wearing off is very apparent, till at four months 
all the incisor teeth appear worn, but the inner ones the 
most. Now the teeth begin slowly to diminish in size by a 




FIFTEEN MONTHS. 



FORMATION OP TEETH. 



55 




EIGHTEEN MONTHS. 



kind of contraction, as weir as wearing down, and the 
distance apart becomes more and more apparent. 

From the fifth to the eighth 
month, the inner teeth will 
usually appear as in the cut of 
the teeth at that time ; and at 
ten months, this change shows 
more clearly, as represented in 
the next cut, and the spaces 
between them begin to show 
very plainly, till at a year old 
they ordinarily present the ap- 
pearance of the following cut ; 
and at the age of fifteen months, that shown in the next, 
where the corner teeth are not more than half the original 
size, and the centre ones still 
smaller. 

The permanent teeth are now 
rapidly growing, and preparing 
to take the place of the milk- 
teeth, which are gradually ab- 
sorbed till they disappear, or 
are pushed out to give place to 
the two permanent central inci- 
sors, which at a year and a half 
will generally present the ap- 
pearance indicated in the cut, which shows the internal 
structure of the lower jaw at this time, with the cells of the 
teeth, the two central ones protruding into the mouth, the 
next two pushing up, but not quite grown to the surface, 




TWO TEARS PAST. 



56 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



with the third pair just perceptible. These changes require 
time ; and at two years past the jaw will usually appear as 




THREE TEARS PAST. 



FOUR TEARS PAST. 



in the cut, where four of the permanent central incisors are 
seen. After this, the other milk-teeth decrease rapidly, but 
are slow to disappear ; and at three years old, the third pair 




FIVE TEARS PAST. 



TEN TEARS PAST. 



of permanent teeth are but formed, as represented in the cut ; 
and at four years the last pair of incisors will be up, as in 
the cut of that age ; but the outside ones are not yet fully 



POINTS OF A GOOD COW. 5T 

grown, and the beast can hardly be said to be full-mouthed 
till the age of five years. But before this age, or at the age 
of four years, the two inner pairs of permanent teeth are 
beginning to wear at the edges, as shown in the cut ; while 
at five years old the whole set becomes somewhat worn down 
at the top, and on the two centre ones a darker line appears 
in the middle, along a line of harder bone, as appears in the 
appropriate cut. 

Now will come a year or two, and sometimes three, when 
the teeth do not so clearly indicate the exact age, and the 
judgment must be guided by the extent to which the dark 
middle lines are worn. This will depend somewhat upon 
the exposure and feeding of the animal ; but at seven years 
these lines extend over all the teeth. At eight years, another 
change begins, which cannot be mistaken. A kind of 
absorption begins with the two central incisors — slow at 
first, but perceptible — and these two teeth become smaller 
than the rest, while the dark lines are worn into one in all 
but the corner teeth, till, at ten years, four of the central 
incisors have become smaller in size, with a smaller and 
fainter mark, as indicated in the proper cut. At eleven, the 
six inner teeth are smaller than the corner ones ; and at 
twelve, all become smaller than they were, while the dark 
lines are nearly gone, except in the corner teeth, and the 
inner edge is worn to the gum. 



POINTS OP A GOOD COW. 

After satisfaction is afforded touching the age of a cow, 
she should be examined with reference to her soundness of 
constitution. A good constitution is indicated by large 



58 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



lungs, which are found in a deep, broad, and prominent chest, 
broad and well-spread ribs, a respiration somewhat slow and 
regular, a good appetite, and if in milk a strong inclination 
to drink, which a large secretion of milk almost invariably 
stimulates. In such a cow the digestive organs are active 
and energetic, and they make an abundance of good blood, 
which in turn stimulates the activity of the nervous system, 
and furnishes the milky glands with the means of abundant 

secretion. Such a cow, when 
dry, readily takes on fat. When 
activity of the milk-glands is 
found united with close ribs, 
small and feeble lungs, and a 
slow appetite, often attended 
by great thirst, the cow will 
generally possess only a 
weak and feeble constitu- 
tion ; and if the milk is 
plentiful, it will generally be 
of bad quality, while the animal, 
if she does not die of diseased 
lungs, will not readily take on fat, when dry and fed. 

In order to have no superfluous flesh, the cow should have 
a small, clean, and rather long head, tapering toward the 
muzzle. A cow with a large, coarse head will seldom fatten 
readily, or give a large quantity of milk. A coarse head 
increases the proportion of weight of the least valuable parts, 
while it is a sure indication that the whole bony structure is 
too heavy. The mouth should be large and broad ; the eye 
bright and sparkling, but of a peculiar placidness of expres- 




A GOOD MILCH COW. 



POINTS OP A GOOD COW. 59 

sion, with no indication of wildness, but rather a mild and 
feminine look. These points will indicate gentleness of 
disposition. Such cows seem to like to be milked, are fond 
of being caressed, and often return caresses. The horns 
should be small, short, tapering, yellowish, and glistening. 
The neck should be small, thin, and tapering toward the 
head, but thickening when it approaches the shoulder ; the 
dewlaps small. The fore quarters should be rather small 
when compared with the hind quarters. The form of the 
barrel will be large, and each rib should project further than 
the preceding one, up to the loins. She should . be well 
formed across the hips and in the rump. 

The spine or backbone should be straight and long, rather 
loosely hung, or open along the middle part, the result of the 
distance between the dorsal vertebrae, which sometimes 
causes a slight depression, or sway back. By some good 
judges, this mark is regarded as of great importance, 
especially when the bones of the hind quarters are also rather 
loosely put together, leaving the rump of great width and 
the pelvis large, and the organs and milk-vessels lodged 
in the cavities largely developed. The skin over the rump 
should be loose and flexible. This point is of great impor- 
tance ; and as, when the cow is in low condition or very poor, 
it will appear somewhat harder and closer than it otherwise 
would, some practice and close observation are required to 
judge well of this mark. The skin, indeed, all over the body, 
should be soft and mellow to the touch, with soft and glossy 
hair. The tail, if thick at the setting on, should taper and 
be fine below. 

But the udder is of special importance. It should be large 



60 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

in proportion* to the size of the animal, and the skin thin, 
with soft, loose folds extending well back, capable of great 
distension when filled, but shrinking to a small compass 
when entirely empty. It must be free from lumps in every 
part, and provided with four teats set well apart, and of 
medium size. Nor is it less important to observe the milk- 
veins carefully. The principal ones under the belly should 
be large and prominent, and extend forward to the navel, 
losing themselves, apparently, in the very best milkers, in a 
large cavity in the flesh, into which the end of the finger can 
be inserted ; but when the cow is not in full milk, the milk- 
vein, at other times very prominent, is not so distinctly traced ; 
and hence, to judge of its size when the cow is dry, or nearly 
so, this vein may be pressed near its end, or at its entrance 
into the body, when it will immediately fill up to its full size. 
This vein does not convey the milk to the udder, as some 
suppose, but is the channel by which the blood returns ; and 
its contents consist of the refuse of the secretion, or of what 
has not been taken up in forming milk. There are also veins 
in the udder, and the perineum, or the space above the udder, 
and between that and the buttocks, which it is of special im- 
portance to observe. These veins should be largely de- 
veloped, and irregular or knotted, especially those of the 
udder. They are largest in great milkers. 

The knotted veins of the perineum, extending from above 
downwards in a winding line, are not readily seen in young 
heifers, and are very difficult to find in poor cows, or those 
of only a medium quality. They are easily found in very 
good milkers, and if not at first apparent, they are made so 
by pressing upon them at the base of the perineum, when 



POINTS OF A GOOD COW. 61 

they swell up and send the blood back toward the vulva. 
They form a kind of thick network under the skin of the 
perineum, raising it up somewhat, in some cases near the 
vulva, in others nearer down and closer to the udder. It is 
important to look for these veins, as they often form a very 
important guide, and by some they would be considered as 
furnishing the surest indications of the milking qualities of 
the cow. Full development almost always shows an abun- 
dant secretion of milk ; but they are far better developed 
after the cow has "had two or three calves, when two or three 
years' milking has given full activity to the milky glands, 
and attracted a large flow of blood. The larger and more 
prominent these veins the better. It is needless to say that 
in observing them some regard should be had to the condition 
of the cow, the thickness of skin and fat by which they may 
be surrounded, and the general activity and food of the 
animal. Food calculated to stimulate the greatest flow of 
milk will naturally increase these veins, and give them more 
than usual prominence. 



THE MILK-MIRKOR. 

The discovery of M. Guenon, of Bordeaux, in France — a 
man of remarkable practical sagacity, and a close observer 
of stock — consisted in the connection between the milking 
qualities of the cow and certain external marks on the udder, 
and on the space above it, called the perineum, extending 
to the buttocks. To these marks he gave the name of milk- 
mirror, or escutcheon, which consists in certain perceptible 
spots rising up from the udder in different directions, forms 
and sizes, on which the hair grows upward, whilst the hair 



62 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



on other parts of the body grows downward. The reduction 
of these marks into a system, explaining the value of particu- 
lar forms and sizes of the 
milk-mirror, belongs exclu- 
sively to Guenon. 

He divided the milk-mirror 
into eight classes, and each 
class into eight orders, mak- 
ing in all no less than 
sixty-four divisions, which 
he afterward increased by 
subdivisions, thus rendering 
the whole system compli- 
cated in the extreme, espe- 
cially as he professed to be 
able to judge with accuracy, 
by means of the milk-mirror, 
not only of the exact quantity 
a cow would give, but also 
of the quality of the milk, and of the length of time it would 
continue. He endeavored to prove too much, and was, as a 
matter of consequence, frequently at fault himself. 

Despite the strictures which have been passed upon 
Guenon's method of judging of cows, the best breeders and 
judges of stock concur in the opinion, as the result of their 
observations, that cows with the most perfectly developed 
milk-mirrors are, with rare exception, the best milkers of 
their breed ; and that cows with small and slightly developed 
milk-mirrors are, in the majority of cases, bad milkers. 
There are, undoubtedly, cows with very small mirrors, which 




MILK-MIRROR [A. 



THE MILK-MIRROR. 



63 




are, nevertheless, very fair in the yield of milk ; and among 
those with middling quality of mirrors, instances of rather 
more than ordinary milkers often 
occur, while at the same time it is 
true that cases now and then are 
found where the very best marked 
and developed mirrors are found on 
very poor milkers. These apparent 
exceptions, however, are to be ex- 
plained, in the large majority of cases, 
Jjl'} by causes outside of those which 
affect the appearance of the milk- 
mirror. It is, of course, impossible to 
estimate with mathematical accuracy 
milk-mirkor [b.] either the quantity, quality, or du- 

ration of the milk, since it is affected by so many chance 
circumstances, which cannot always be known or estimated 
by even the most skillful judges ; such, 
for example, as the food, the treat- 
ment, the temperament, accidental 
diseases, inflammation of the udder, 
premature calving, the climate and 
season, the manner in which she has 
been milked, and a thousand other 
things which interrupt or influence 
fjljjJJI the flow of milk, without materially 
changing the size or shape of the 
milk-mirror. It has, indeed, been 
milk-mirror [c.] very justly observed that we often 

see cows equally well formed, with precisely the same milk- 




64 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



mirror, and kept in the same circumstances, yet giving neither 
equal quantities nor similar qualities of milk. Nor could it 
be otherwise ; since the action of the organs depends, not 
merely on their size and form, but, to a great extent, on the 
general condition of each individual. 

The different forms of milk-mirrors are represented by 
the shaded parts of cuts, lettered A, B, C, D ; but it is neces- 
sary to premise that upon the cows themselves they are 
always partly concealed by the thighs, the udder, and the 
folds of the skin, which are not shown, and therefore they are 
not always so uniform in nature as they appear in the cuts. 

Their size varies as the skin is more or less folded or 
stretched; while the cuts represent the skin as uniform or 
free from folds, but not stretched out. It is usually very 
easy to distinguish the milk-mirrors by the upward direction 
of the hair which forms them. They are sometimes marked 
by a line of bristly hair growing in 
the opposite direction, which sur- 
rounds them, forming a sort of 
outline by the upward and downward 
growing hair. Yet, when the hair is 
very fine and short, mixed with longer 
hairs, and the skin much folded, and 
the udder voluminous and pressed by 
the thighs, it is necessary, in order 
to distinguish the part enclosed 
between the udder and the legs, and 
examine the full size of the mirrors, to 
observe them attentively, and to place 
the legs wide apart, and to smooth out the skin, in order to 
avoid the folds. 




MILK-MIRROR [D.] 



THE MILK-MIRROR. 



65 



The mirrors may also be observed by holding the back of 
the hand against the perineum, and drawing it from above 
downward, when the nails rubbing against the up-growing 
hair, make the parts covered by it very perceptible. 

As the hair of the milk-mirror has not the same direction 
as the hair which surrounds it, it may often be distinguished 
by a difference in the shade 
reflected by it. It is then 
sufficient to place it properly 
to the light in order to see 
the difference in shade, and 
to make out the part covered 
by the upward-growing hair. 
Most frequently, however, 
the hair of the milk-mirror is 
thin and fine, and the color 
of the skin can easily be 
seen. If the eye alone is 
trusted, we shall often be 
deceived. 

In some countries cattle- 
dealers shave the back part 
of the cow. Just after this nft ™ £ E - 1 

operation the mirrors can neither be seen nor felt ; but this 
inconvenience ceases in a few days. It may be added that 
the shaving — designed, as the dealers say, to beautify the 
cow — is generally intended simply to destroy the milk-mirror, 
and to deprive buyers of one means of judging of the milking 
qualities of the cows. It is unnecessary to add that the 
cows most carefully shaven are those which are badly 




66 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



marked, and that it is prudent to take it for granted that 
cows so shorn are bad milkers. 

Milk-mirrors vary in position, extent, and the figure which 
they represent. They may be divided according to their 
position, into mirrors or escutcheons, properly so called, or 
into lower and upper tufts, or escutcheons. The latter are 
very small in comparison with the former, and are situated 
in close proximity to the vulva, as seen at 1, in cut E. They 
are very common on cows of bad milking races, but are very 
rarely seen gn the best milch cows. They consist of one or 
two ovals, or small bands of up-grow- 
ing hair, and serve to indicate the 
continuance of the flow of milk. The 
period is short, ,in proportion as the 
tufts are large. They must not be 
confounded with the escutcheon proper, 
which is often extended up to the 
vulva. They are separated from it by 
bands of hair, more or less large, as 
in cut marked F. 

Milk-mirrors are sometimes symme- 
trical, and sometimes without symme- 
try. When there is a great difference in the extent of the 
two halves, it almost always happens that the teats on the 
side where the mirror is best developed give more milk than 
those of the opposite side. The left half of the mirror, it 
may be remarked, is almost always the largest ; and so, when 
the perinean part is folded into a square, it is on this side of 
the body that it unfolds. Of three thousand cows in 




MILK-MIRROR [F.) 



THE MILK-MIRROR. 6T 

Denmark, but a single one was found, whose escutcheon 
varied even a little from this rule. 

The mirrors having a value in proportion to the space 
which they occupy, it is of great importance to attend to all 
the rows of down-growing hairs, which diminish the extent 
of surface, whether these tufts are in the midst of the mirror, 
or form indentations on its edges. 

These indentations, concealed in part by the folds of the 
skin, are sometimes seen with difficulty ; but it is important 
to take them into account, since in a great many cows they 
materially lessen the size of the mirror. Cows are often 
found, whose milk-mirrors at first sight appear very large, 
but which are only medium milkers ; and it will usually be 
found that lateral indentations greatly diminish the surface 
of up-growing hair. Many errors are committed in estima- 
ting the value of such cows, from a want of attention to the 
real extent of the mirror. 

All the interruptions in the surface of the mirror indicate a 
diminution in the quantity of the milk, with the exception, 
however, of small oval or elliptical plates which are found in 
the mirror, on the back part of the udders of the best cows, 
as represented in the cut already given, marked A. These 
ovals have a peculiar tint, which is occasioned by the down- 
ward direction of the hair which forms them. In the best 
cows these ovals exist with the lower mirrors very well 
developed, as represented in the cut just named. 

In short, it should be stated that, in order to determine the 
extent and significance of a mirror, it is necessary to consider 
the state of the perineum as to fat, and that of the fullness of 
the udder. In a fat cow, with an inflated udder, the mirror 



68 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

would appear larger than it really is ; whilst in a lean cow, 
with a loose and wrinkled udder, it appears smaller. Fat 
will cover faults — a fact to be borne in mind when selecting 
a cow. 

In bulls, the mirrors present the same peculiarities as in 
cows ; but they are less varied in their form, and especially 
much less in size. 

In calves, the mirrors show the shapes which they are 
afterwards to have, only they are more contracted, because 
the parts which they cover are but slightly developed. They 
are easily seen after birth ; but the hair which then covers 
them is long, coarse, and stiff; and when this hair falls off, 
the calf's mirror will resemble that of the cow, but will be of 
less size. 

With calves, however, it should be stated, in addition, that 
the milk-mirrors are more distinctly recognized on those 
from cows that are well kept, and that they will generally be 
fully developed at two years old. Some changes take place 
in the course of years, but the outlines of the mirror appear 
prominent at the time of advanced pregnancy, or, in the case 
of cows giving milk, at the times when the udder is more 
distended with milk than at others. 

M. Mayne, who has explained and simplified the method 
of M. Gu6"non, divides cows, according to the quantity which 
they give, into four classes : first, the very good ; second, the 
good ; third, the medium ; and fourth, the bad. 

In the first class he places cows, both parts of whose 
milk mirror, the mammary — the tuft situated on the udder, 
the legs and the thighs — and the perinean — that on the 
perineum, extending sometimes more or less out upon the 



THE MILK- MIRROR. 



69 



thighs— are large, continuous, and uniform, covering at 
least a great part of the perineum, the udder, the inner 
surface of the thighs, and extending more or less out upon 
the legs, as in cut A, with no interruptions, or, if any, small 
ones, oval in form, and situated on the posterior face of the 
udder. 

Such mirrors are found on most very good cows, but may 
also be found on cows which can scarcely be called good, 
and which should be ranked in the 
next class. But cows, whether having 
very well developed mirrors or not, 
may be reckoned as very good, and as 
giving as much milk as is to be ex- 
pected from their size, food, and the 
hygienic circumstances in which they 
are kept, if they present the following 
characteristics : veins of the perineum 
large, as if swollen, and visible on the 
exterior — as in cut A— or which can 
easily be made to appear by pressing 
upon the base of the perineum ; veins 
of the udder large and knotted ; milk- veins large, often 
double, equal on both sides, and forming zig-zags, under the 
belly. 

To the signs furnished by the veins and by the mirror, 
may be added also the following marks : a uniform, very 
large, and yielding udder, shrinking much in milking, and 
covered with soft skin and fine hair ; good constitution, full 
chest, regular appetite, and great propensity to drink. Such 
cows rather incline to be poor than to be fat. The skin is 




MILK-MIRROR [G]. 



TO 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



soft and yielding ; short, fine hair; small -head; fine horns; 
bright, sparkling eye ; mild expression ; feminine look ; with 
a fine neck. 

Cows of this first class are very rare. They give, even 
when small in size, from ten to fourteen quarts of milk a 
day; and the largest sized' from eighteen to twenty-six 
quarts a day, and even more. Just after calving, if arrived 
at maturity and fed with good, wholesome, moist food in 
sufficient quantity and quality, adapted to promote the secre- 
tion of milk, they can give about a pint of milk for every 
ten ounces of hay, or its equivalent, which they eat. 

They continue in milk for a long period. The best never 
go dry, and may be milked even up to the time of calving, 
giving from eight to ten quarts of milk a day. But even the 
best cows often fall short of the quantity of milk which they 
are able to give, from being fed on food which is too dry, or 
not sufficiently varied, or not rich enough 
in nutritive qualities, or deficient in 
quantity. 

The second class is that of good cows; 
and to this belong the best commonly 
found in the market and among the 
cow-feeders of cities. 

They have the mammary part of the 

milk-mirror well developed, but the 

perinean part contracted, or wholly 

wanting, as in cut Gr ; or both parts of 

milk-mirrok [H.] ^ e m i rror are moderately developed, or 

slightly indented, as in cut H. Cut E belongs also to this 

class, in the lower part ; but it indicates a cow, which — as 




THE MILK-MIRROR. 71 

the upper mirror, 1, indicates — dries up sooner when again in 
calf. 

These marks, though often seen in many good cows, should 
be considered as certain only when the veins of the perineum 
form, under the skin, a kind of network, which, without being 
very apparent, may be felt by a pressure on them ; when the 
milk-veins on the belly are well-developed, though less knotty 
and less prominent than in cows of the first class ; in short, 
when the udder is well developed, and presents veins which 
are sufficiently numerous, though not very large. 

It is necessary here, as in the preceding class, to distrust 
cows in which the mirror is not accompanied by large veins. 
This remark applies especially to cows which have had 
several calves, and are in full milk. They are medium or 
bad, let the milk-mirror be what it may, if the veins of the 
belly are not large, and those of the udder apparent. 

The general characteristics which depend on form and 
constitution combine, less than in cows of the preceding class, 
the marks of good health and excellent constitution with 
those of a gentle and feminine look. 

Small cows of this class give from seven to ten or eleven 
quarts of milk a day, and the largest from thirteen to seven- 
teen quarts. They can be made to give three-fourths of a 
pint of milk, just after calving, for every ten ounces of hay 
consumed, if well cared for, and fed in a manner favorable to 
the secretion of milk. 

They hold out long in milk, when they have no upper 
mirrors or tufts. At seven or eight months in calf, they may 
give from five to eight quarts of milk a day. 

The third class consists of middling cows. When the 



72 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



milk-mirror really presents only the mammary or lower part 
slightly indicated or developed, and the perinean part con- 
tracted, narrow, and irregu- 
lar— -as in cut K — the cows 
are middling. The udder 
is slightly developed or 
hard, and shrinks very little 
after milking. The veins 
of the perineum are not 
apparent, and those which 
run along the lower side of 
the abdomen are small, 
straight, and sometimes un- 
equal. In this case the 
mirror is not symmetrical, 
and the cow gives more 
milk on the side where the 
milk-mirror [K.] vein is the largest. 

These cows have large heads, and a thick, hard skin. 
Being ordinarily in good condition, they are beautiful to look 
at, and seem to be well formed. Many of them are nervous 
and restive, and not easily approached. 

Cows of this class give, according to size, from three or four 
to ten quarts of milk. They very rarely give, even in the 
most favorable circumstances, half a pint of milk for every 
^ ten ounces of hay which they consume. • The milk diminishes 
rapidly, and dries up wholly the fourth or fifth month in 
calf. 

The fourth class is composed of bad cows. As they are 




THE MILK-MIRROR. 73 

commonly in good condition, these cows are often the most 
beautiful of the herd and in the- markets. They have fleshy 
thighs, thick and hard skin, a large and coarse neck and 
head, and horns large at the base. 

The udder is hard, small and fleshy, with a skin covered 
with long, rough hair. No veins are to be seen either on 
the perineum or the udder, while those of the belly are 
slightly developed, and the mirrors are ordinarily small, as in 
cut L. 

With these characteristics, cows give only a few quarts of 
milk a day, and dry up in a short time after calving. Some 
of them can scarcely nourish their calves, even when they 
are properly cared for and well fed. 

Sickly habits, chronic affections of the digestive organs, the 
chest, the womb, and the lacteal system, sometimes greatly 
affect the milk secretion, and cause cows troubled with them 
to fall from the first or second to the third, and sometimes to 
the fourth class. 

Without pushing this method of judging of the good 
milking qualities of cows into the objectionable extreme to 
which it was carried by its originator, it may be safely 
asserted that the milk-mirror forms an important additional 
mark or point for distinguishing good milkers ; and it may 
be laid down as a rule that, in the selection of milch cows, 
as well as in the choice of young animals for breeders, the 
milk-mirror should, by all means, be examined and considered ; 
but that we should not limit or confine ourselves exclusively 
to it, and that other and long-known marks should be equally 
regarded. 

There are cases, however, where a knowledge and careful 



u 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



examination of the form and size of the mirror become of the 
highest importance. It is well known that certain signs or 
marks of great milkers are developed, only as the capaci- 
ties of the animal herself are fully and completely developed 

by age. The milk-veins, for 
instance, are never so large 
and prominent in heifers and 
young cows as in old ones, 
and the same may be said of 
the udder, and of the veins of 
1 the udder and perineum ; all 
of which it is of great import- 
ance to observe in the selec- 
tion of milch cows. Those 
signs, then, which in cows 
arrived at maturity are almost 
sufficient in themselves to 
warrant a conclusion as to 
their merits as milkers, are, 
to a great extent, wanting in 
younger animals, and altogether in calves, as to which there 
is often doubt whether they shall be raised; and here a 
knowledge of the form of the mirror is of immense advantage, 
since it gives, at the outset and before any expense is in- 
curred, a somewhat reliable means of judging of the future 
milking capacities of the animal; or, if a male, of the 
probability of his transmitting milking qualities to his off- 
spring. 

It will be seen, from an examination of the points of a 
good milch cow. that, though the same marks which indicate 




MILK-MIKROR [L.] 



THE MILK-MIRROR. ?5 

the greatest milking qualities may not always indicate the 
greatest aptitude to fatten, yet that the signs which denote 
good fattening qualities are included among the signs favora- 
ble to the production of milk ; such as soundness of constitu- 
tion, marked by good organs of digestion and respiration, 
fineness and mellowness of the skin and hair, quietness of 
disposition-^-which inclines the animal to rest and lie down 
while chewing the cud — and other marks which are relied on 
by graziers in selecting animals to fatten. 

In buying dairy stock the farmer generally finds it for his 
interest to select young heifers, as they give the promise of 
longer usefulness. But it is often the case that older cows 
are selected with the design of using them for the dairy for 
a limited period, and then feeding them for the butcher. In 
either case, it is advisable, as a rule, to choose animals in low 
or medium condition. The farmer cannot commonly afford 
to buy fat ; it is more properly his business to make it, and 
to have it to sell. Good and well-marked cows in poor 
condition will rapidly gain in flesh and products when 
removed to better pastures and higher keeping, and they 
cost less in the original purchase. 

It is, perhaps, superfluous to add that regard should be 
had to the quality of the pasturage and keeping which a cow 
has previously had, as compared with that to which she is 
to be subjected. The size of the animal should also be 
considered with reference to the fertility of the pastures into 
which she is to be put. Small or medium-sized animals 
accommodate themselves to ordinary pastures far better than 
large ones. Where a very large cow will do well, two small 
ones will usually do better ; while the large animal might fail 



76 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

entirely where two small ones would do well. It is better 
to have the whole herd, so far as may be, uniform in size ; 
for, if they vary greatly, some may get more than they need, 
and others will not have enough. This, however, cannot 
always be brought about. 




The raising of cattle has now become a source of 
profit in many sections, — to a greater extent, at 
least, than formerly — and it becomes a matter of great 
practical importance to our farmers to take the proper steps 
to improve them. Indeed, the questions — what are the best 
breeds, and what are the best crosses, and how shall I 
improve my stock— are now asked almost daily ; and their 
practical solution would add many thousand dollars to the 
aggregate wealth of the farmers of the country, if they would 
all study their own interests. 



?8 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

The time is gradually passing away when the intelligent 
practical farmer will be willing to put his cows to any bull, 
simply because his services may be had for twenty-five cents ; 
for, even if the progeny is to go to the butcher, the calf sired 
by a pure-bred bull — particularly of a race distinguished for 
fineness of bone, symmetry of form, and early maturity — will 
bring a much higher price at the same age than a calf sired 
by a scrub. Blood has a money value, which will, sooner or 
later, be generally appreciated. 

The first and most important object of the farmer is to get 
the greatest return in money for his labor and his produce ; 
and it is for his interest to obtain an animal — a calf, for 
example — that will yield the largest profit on the outlay. If 
a calf, for which the original outlay was five dollars, will 
bring at the same age and on the same keep more real net 
profit than another, the original outlay for which was not 
twenty-five cents, it is certainly for the farmer's interest to 
make the heavier original outlay and thus secure the superior 
animal. Setting all fancy aside, it is merely a question of 
dollars and cents ; but one thing is certain — and that is, that 
no farmer can afford to keep poor stock. It eats as much, 
and requires nearly the same amount of care and attention, 
as stock of the best quality ; while it is equally certain that 
stock of ever so good a quality, whether grade, native, or 
thoroughbred, will be sure to deteriorate and sink to the 
level of poor stock by neglect and want of proper attention. 

How, then, is our stock to be improved ? Not, certainly, 
by that indiscriminate crossing, with a total disregard of all 
well-established principles, which has thus far marked our 
efforts with foreign stock, and which is one prominent reason 



CROSSING AND BREEDING. Y9 

why so little improvement has been made in our dairies ; 
nor by leaving all the results to chance, when, by a careful 
and judicious selection, they may be within our own control. 

We want cattle for distinct purposes, as for milk, beef, or 
labor. In a large majority of cases—especially in the dairy 

districts, at least, comprising the Eastern and Middle States 

the farmer cares more for the milking qualities of his cows, 
especially for the quantity they give, than for their fitness 
for grazing, or aptness to fatten. These latter points become 
more important in the Western and some of the Southern 
States, where much greater attention is paid to breeding and 
to feeding, and where comparatively slight attention is given 
to the productions of the dairy. A stock of cattle which 
would suit one farmer might be wholly unsuited to another ; 
and in such particular case the breeder should have some 
pecial object in view, and select his animals with reference 
io it. 

There are, however, some well-defined general principles 
that apply to breeding everywhere, and which, in many 
cases, are not thoroughly understood. To these attention 
will now be directed. 

The first and most important of the laws to be considered 
n this connection is that of similarity. It is by virtue of 
this law that the peculiar characters, properties, and qualities 
of the parents— whether external or internal, good or bad, 
healthy or diseased — are transmitted to their offspring. This 
is one of the plainest and most certain of the laws of nature. 
The lesson which it teaches may be stated in five words :— 
Breed only from the best. 

Judicious selection is indispensable to success in breeding, 



80 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

and this should have regard to every particular — general 
appearance, length of limb, shape of carcass, development of 
chest ; in cattle, to the size, shape, and position of the udder, 
thickness of skin, touch, length and texture of hair, docility, 
and all those points which go to make up the desirable 
animal. 

Not only should care be exercised to avoid structural 
defects, but especially to secure freedom from hereditary 
diseases; as both defects and diseases appear to be more 
easily transmissible than desirable qualities. There is, often- 
times, no obvious peculiarity of structure or appearance 
which suggests the possession of diseases or defects which 
are transmissible ; and for this reason, special care and con- 
tinued acquaintance are requisite in order to be assured of 
their absence in breeding animals ; but such a tendency, 
although invisible or inappreciable to careless observers, 
must still, judging from its effects, have as real and certain 
an existence as any peculiarity of form or color. 

In neat cattle, hereditary diseases do not usually show 
themselves at birth ; and sometimes the tendency remains 
latent for many years, perhaps through one or two genera- 
tions, and afterward breaks out with all its former severity. 
The diseases which are found hereditary in cattle are scrofula, 
consumption, dysentery, diarrhoea, rheumatism, and malig- 
nant tumors. As these animals are less exposed to the 
exciting causes of disease, and less liable to be overtasked or 
subjected to violent changes of temperature, or otherwise put 
in jeopardy, their diseases are not so numerous as those of 
the horse, and what they have are less violent, and generally 
of a chronic character. 



CROSSING AND BREEDING. 81 

With regard to hereditary diseases, it is eminently true 
that " an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. " As 
a general and almost invariable rule, animals possessing 
either defects or a tendency to disease, should not be 
employed for breeding. If, however, for special reasons it 
seems desirable to breed from one which has some slight 
defect of symmetry, or a faint tendency to disease — although 
for the latter it is doubtful whether the possession of any 
good qualities can fully compensate— it should be mated 
with one which excels in every respect in which it is itself 
deficient, and on no account with one which is near of kin 
to it. 

There is another law, by which that of similarity is greatly 
modified — ftie law of Variation or divergence. 

All animals possess a certain flexibility or pliancy of 
organization, which renders them capable of change to a 
greater or less extent. When in a state of nature, variations 
are comparatively slow and infrequent ; but when in a state 
of domestication they occur much oftener and to a much 
greater extent. The greater variability in the latter case is 
doubtless owing, in some measure, to our domestic produce 
tions' being reared under conditions of life not so uniform as, 
and different from, those to which the parent species was 
exposed in a state of nature. 

Among what are usually reckoned the more active causes 
of variation may be named climate, food, and habit. Animals 
in a cold climate are provided with a thicker covering of hair 
than in warmer ones. Indeed, it is said that in some of the 
tropical provinces of South America, there are cattle which 
have an extremely rare and fine fur, in place of the ordinary 



82 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

pile of hair. The supply of food, whether abundant or 
scanty, is one of the most efficient causes of variation known 
to be within the control of man. A due consideration of the 
natural effects of climate and food is a point worthy the 
careful attention of the stock-husbandman. If the breeds 
employed be well adapted to the situation, and the capacity 
of the soil be such as to feed them fully, profit may be safely 
anticipated. Animals are to be regarded as machines for 
converting herbage into money. 

The bestowal of food sufficient, both in amount and quality, 
to enable animals to develop all the excellencies inherent in 
them, and yield all the profit of which they are capable, is 
something quite distinct from undue forcing or pampering. 
The latter process may produce wonderful animafs to look at, 
but neither useful nor profitable ones, and there is danger of 
thus producing a most undesirable variation, since in animals 
the process may be carried far enough to produce barrenness. 
Instances are not wanting, particularly among the more 
recent improved short-horns, of impotency among the males 
and of barrenness among the females ; and in some cases 
where the latter have borne calves, they have failed to secrete 
sufficient milk for their nourishment. Impotency in bulls of 
various breeds has, in many instances, occurred from too 
high feeding, especially when connected with a lack of 
sufficient exercise. A working bull, though perhaps not so 
pleasing to the eye as a fat one, is a surer stock-getter ; and 
his progeny is more likely to inherit full health and vigor. 

Habit has a decided influence toward producing variations. 
We find in domestic animals that use — or the demand 
created by habit- — is met by a development or change in the 



CROSSING AND BREEDING. 



83 




organization adapted to the requirement. For instance, with 
cows in a state of nature, or where required only to suckle 
their young, the supply of milk is barely fitted to the require- 
ment. If more is desired, and the milk is drawn completely 
and regu- 
larly, the 
yield is in- 
creased and 
continued 
longer. By 
keeping up 
the demand 
there is in- 
duced, in 
the next 
generation, 

a greater development of the secreting organs, and more 
milk is given. By continuing the practice, by furnishing the 
needful conditions of suitable food and the like, and by 
selecting in each generation those animals showing the 
greatest tendency toward milk, a breed specially adapted 
for the dairy may be established. It is just by this mode 
that the Ayrshires have, within the past century, been 
brought to be what they are — a breed giving more good 
milk upon a certain amount of food than any other. 

It is a fact too well established to be controverted, that 
the first male produces impressions upon subsequent progeny 
by other males. To what extent this principle holds, it is 
impossible to say. Although the instances in which it is 
known to be of a very marked and obvious character may be 



READY FOR ACTION. 



84 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

comparatively few, yet there is ample reason to believe that, 
although in a majority of cases the effect may be less notice- 
able, it is not less real ; and it therefore demands the special 
attention of breeders. The knowledge of this law furnishes 
a clue to the cause of. many of the disappointments of which 
practical breeders often complain, and of many variations 
otherwise unaccountable, and it suggests particular caution 
as to the first male employed in the coupling of animals — a 
matter which has often been deemed of little consequence in 
regard to cattle, inasmuch as fewer heifers' first calves are 
reared, than those are which are borne subsequently. 

The phenomenon — or law, as it is sometimes called — of 
atavism, or ancestral influence, is one of considerable 
practical importance, and well deserves the careful attention 
of the breeder of farm stock. 

Every one is aware that it is by no means unusual for a 
child to resemble its grandfather, or grandmother, or even 
some ancestor still more remote, more than it does either its 
own father or mother. The same occurrence is found among 
our domestic animals, and oftener in proportion as the breeds 
are crossed or mixed up. Among our common stock of neat 
cattle, or natives — originating, as they did, from animals 
brought from England, Scotland, Denmark, France, - and 
Spain, each possessing different characteristics of form, color, 
and use, and bred, as our common stock has usually been, 
indiscriminately together, with no special object in view, 
with no attempt to obtain any particular type or form, or to 
secure adaptation for any particular purpose — frequent op- 
portunities are afforded of witnessing the results of this law 
of hereditary transmission. So common, indeed, is its occur- 



CROSSING AND BREEDING. 85 

rence, that the remark is often made, that, however good a 
cow may be, there is no telling beforehand what sort of a 
calf she may have. The fact is sufficiently obvious, that 
certain peculiarities often lie dormant for a generation or two 
and then reappear in subsequent progeny. Stockmen often 
speak of it as "breeding back," or "crying back." 

The lesson taught by this law is very plain. It shows the 
importance of seeking thorough-bred or well-bred animals ; 
and by these terms are simply meant such as are descended 
from a line of ancestors in which for many generations the de- 
sirable forms, qualities, and characteristics have been uni- 
formly shown. In such a case, even if ancestral influence does 
come in play, no material difference appears in the offspring, the 
ancestors being all essentially alike. From this stand-point 
we best perceive in what consi&ts the money value of a good 
"pedigree." This is valuable, in proportion as it shows an 
animal to be descended, not only from such as are purely of 
its own race or breed, but also from such individuals of that 
breed as were specially noted for the 'excellencies for which 
that particular breed is esteemed. 

Probably the most distinctly marked evidence of ancestral 
influence among us, is to be found in the ill-begotten, round- 
headed calves, not infrequently dropped by cows of the 
common mixed kind, which, if killed early, make very blue 
veal, and if allowed to grow up, become exceedingly profit- 
less and unsatisfactory beasts ; the heifers being often barren, 
the cows poor milkers, the oxen dull, mulish beasts, yielding 
flesh of very dark color, of ill flavor and destitute of fat. 

The relative influence of the male and female parents 
upon the characteristics of progeny has long been a fruitful 



86 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

subject of discussion among breeders. It is found in experi- 
ence that progeny sometimes resembles one parent more 
than the other — sometimes there is an apparent blending of 
the characteristics of both — sometimes a noticeable dissimi- 
larity to either, though always more or less resemblance 
somewhere — and sometimes the impress of one may be seen 
upon a portion of the organization of the offspring, and that 
of the other parent upon another portion ; yet we are not 
authorized from such discrepancies to conclude that it is a 
matter of chance ; for all of nature's operations are conducted 
in accordance with fixed laws, whether we be able fully to 
discover them or not. The same causes always produce the 
same results. In this case, not less than in others, there are, 
beyond all doubt, certain fixed laws ; and the varying results 
which we see are easily and sufficiently accounted for by the 
existence of conditions or modifying influences not fully open 
to our observation. 

It may be stated, on the whole — as a result of the varied 
investigations to which this question has given rise — that 
the evidence, both from observation and the testimony of the 
best practical breeders, goes to show that each parent usually 
contributes certain portions of the organization to the off- 
spring, and that each has a modifying influence upon the 
other. Facts also show that the same parent does not 
always contribute the same portions, but that the order is at 
times, and not rarely, reversed. Where animals are of 
distinct species or breeds, transmission is usually found to be 
in harmony with the principle, that the male gives mostly 
the outward form and locomotive system, and the female 
chiefly the interior system, constitution and the like. Where 



CROSSING AND BREEDING 87 

the parents are of the same breed, it appears that the propor- 
tions contributed by each are governed, in a large measure, 
by the condition of each in regard to age and vigor, or by 
virtue of individual potency or superiority of physical endow- 
ment. This potency or power of transmission, seems to be 
legitimately connected with high breeding, or the concentra- 
tion of fixed qualities, obtained by continued descent for 
many generations from such only as possess in the highest 
degree the qualities desired. 

Practically, the knowledge obtained dictates in a most 
emphatic manner that every stock-grower use his utmost 
endeavor to obtain the services of the best sires ; that is, the 
best for the ends and purposes in view — that he depend 
chiefly on the sire for outward form and symmetry — and 
that he select dams best calculated to develop the good quali- 
ties of the male, depending chiefly upon these for freedom 
from internal disease, for hardihood and constitution, and, 
generally, for all qualities dependent upon the vital or nutri- 
tive system. The neglect of the qualities of the dam, which 
is far too common-r-miserably old and inferior animals being 
often employed— cannot be too strongly censured. 

With regard to the laws which regulate the sex of the 
progeny very little is known. Many and extensive observa- 
tions have been made, without reaching any definite conclu- 
sion. Nature seems to have provided that the number of 
each sex produced, shall be nearly equal ; but by what means 
this result is attained, has not as yet been discovered. 

It has long been a disputed point, whether the system of 
breeding in-and-in, or the opposite one of frequent crossing, 
has the greater tendency to improve the character of stock. 



88 CATTLE AND THEIH DISEASES. 

This term, in-and-in, is often very loosely used and as vari- 
ously understood. Some confine the phrase to the coupling 
of those of exactly the same blood, as brothers and sisters, 
while others include in it breeding from parents and off- 
springs ; and others still employ it to embrace those of a 
more distant relationship. For the last, the term breeding- 
in, or close breeding, is generally deemed more suitable. 

The current opinion is decidedly against the practice of 
breeding from any near relatives ; it being usually found that 
degeneracy follows, and often to a serious degree ; but it is 
not proved that this degeneracy, although very common and 
even usual, is yet a necessary consequence. That ill effects 
follow, in a majority of cases, is not to be doubted ; but this 
is easily and sufficiently accounted for upon quite other 
grounds. Perhaps, however, the following propositions may 
be safely stated : That in general practice, with the grades 
and mixed animals common in the country, close-breeding 
should be scrupulously avoided as highly detrimental. It is 
better always to avoid breeding from near relatives whenever 
stock-getters of the same breed and of equal merit can be 
obtained which are not related. Yet, where this is not 
possible, or where there is some desirable and clearly defined 
purpose in view— as the fixing and perpetuating of some 
valuable quality in a particular animal not common to the 
breed — and the breeder possesses the knowledge and skill 
needful to accomplish his purpose, and the animals are 
perfect in health and development, close breeding may be 
practised with advantage. 

The practice of crossing, like that of close breeding, has 
its strong and its weak side. Judiciously practised, it offers 



CROSSING AND BREEDING. 



89 



a means of providing animals for the butcher, often superior 
to, and more profitable than, those of any pure breed. It is 
also admissible as the foundation of a systematic and well- 
considered attempt to establish a new breed. But when 
crossing is practised injudiciously and indiscriminately, and 
especially when so done for the purpose of procuring breeding 
animals, it is scarcely less objectionable than careless in-and- 
in breeding. 

The profitable style of breeding for the great majority of 
farmers to adopt, is neither to cross nor to breed from close 
affinities — ex- 
cept in rare in- 
stances, and for 
some specific and 
clearly under- 
stood purpose — 
but to breed in g 
the line ; that is, iiL 
to select the 
breed or race best adapt- 
ed to fulfil the require- 
ment demanded, whether it be for the dairy, for labor, or for 
such combination of these as can be had without too great a 
sacrifice of the principal requisite, and then to procure a 
•pure-bred male of the kind determined upon, and breed him 
to the females of the herd ; and if these be not such as are 
calculated to develop his qualities, endeavor by purchase or 
exchange to procure such as will. Let the progeny of these 
be bred to another pure-bred male of the same breed, but as 
distantly related to the first as may be. Let this plan be 




A SPRIGHTLY YOUTH. 



90 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

faithfully pursued, and, although we cannot, without the 
intervention of well-bred females, procure stock purely of the 
kind desired, yet in several generations — if proper care be 
given to the selection of males, that each one be such as to 
retain and improve upon the points gained by his predeces- 
sor — the stock, for most practical purposes, will be as good 
as if thorough-bred. If this plan were generally adopted, and 
a system of letting or exchanging males established, the cost 
might be brought within -the means of most persons, and 
the advantages which would accrue would be almost beyond 
belief. 

A brief summing-up of the foregoing principles may not 
be inappropriate here. 

The law of similarity teaches us to select animals for 
breeding which possess the desired forms and qualities in the 
greatest perfection and best combination. 

Regard should be had, not only to the more obvious 
characteristics, but also to such hereditary traits and tenden- 
cies as may be hidden from cursory observation and demand 
careful and thorough investigation. 

From the hereditary nature of all characteristics, whether 
good or bad, we leam the importance of having all desirable 
qualities thoroughly inbred ; or, in other words, so firmly in 
each generation that the next is warrantably certain to 
present nothing worse — that no ill results follow from breed- 
ing back to some inferior ancestor — that all undesirable traits 
or points be, so far as possible, bred-out. 

So important is this consideration, that, in practice, it is 
decidedly preferable to employ a male of ordinary external 
appearance — provided his ancestry be all which is desired — 



CROSSING AND BREEDING. 91 

rather than a grade, or cross-bred animal, although the 
latter be greatly his superior in personal beauty. 

A knowledge of the law of variation teaches us to avoid, 
for breeding purposes, such animals as exhibit variations 
unfavorable to the purpose in view ; to endeavor to perpetu- 
ate every real improvement gained ; as well as to secure, as 
far as practicable, the conditions necessary to induce or 
continue any improvement, such as general treatment, food, 
climate, habits, and the like. 

Where the parents do not possess the perfections desired, 
selections for coupling should be made with critical reference 
to correcting the faults or deficiencies of one by correspond- 
ing excellencies in the other. 

To correct defects, too much must not be attempted at 
once. Pairing those very unlike oftener results in loss than 
gain. Avoid all extremes, and endeavor by moderate 
degrees to attain the end desired. 

Crossing, between different breeds, for the purpose of 
obtaining animals for the shambles, may be advantageously 
practised to a considerable extent, but not for the production 
of breeding animals. As a general rule, cross-bred males 
should not be employed for propagation, and cross-bred 
females should be served by thorough-bred males. 

In ordinary practice, breeding from near relatives is to be 
scrupulously avoided. For certain purposes, under certain 
conditions and circumstances, and in the hands of a skillful 
breeder, it may be practised with advantage — but not other- 
wise. 

In a large majority of cases — other things being equal — 
we may expect in progeny the outward form and general 



92 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

structure of the sire, together with the internal qualities, 
constitution, and nutritive system of the dam ; each, how- 
ever, modified by the other. 

Particular care should always be taken that the male by 
which the dam first becomes pregnant is the best which can 
be obtained ; also, that at the time of sexual congress both 
are in vigorous health. 

Breeding animals should not be allowed to become fat, but 
always kept in thrifty condition ; and such as are intended 
for the butcher should never be fat but once. 

In deciding with what breeds to stock a farm, endeavor to 
select those best adapted to its surface, climate, and degree 
of fertility; also, with reference to probable demand and 
proximity to markets. 

No expense incurred in procuring choice animals for 
propagation, no amount of skill in breeding, can supersede, 
or compensate for, a lack of liberal feeding and good treat- 
ment. The better the stock, the better care they deserve. 



PEEGIfAWCY 

The symptoms of pregnancy in its early stage were 
formerly deemed exceedingly unsatisfactory. The period of 
being in season — which commonly lasts three or four days, 
and then ceases for a while, and returns in about three 
weeks— might entirely pass over ; and, although it was then 
probable that conception had taken' place, yet in a great 
many instances the hopes of the breeder were disappointed. 
It was not until between the third and fourth month, when 
the belly began to enlarge — or, in many cases, considerably 
later — and when the motions of the fetus might be seen, or, 



TREATMENT BEEORE CALVING. 93 

at all events, felt by pressing on the right flank, that the 
farmer could be assured that his cow was in calf. 

That greatest of improvements in veterinary practice, the 
application of the ear to the chest and belly of various 
animals, in order to detect by the different sounds — which, 
after a short time, will be easily recognized — the state of the 
circulation through most of the organs, and consequently, 
the precise seat and degree of inflammation and danger, has 
now enabled the breeder to ascertain the existence of preg- 
nancy at as early a stage as six or eight weeks. The beating 
of the heart of the calf may then be distinctly heard, twice, 
or more than twice, as frequent as that of the mother ; and 
each pulsation will betray the singular double beating of the 
fetal heart. This will also be accompanied by the audible 
rushing of the blood through the vessels of the placenta. 
The ear should be applied to the right flank, beginning on 
the higher part of it, and gradually shifting downward and 
backward. These sounds will thus soon be heard, and 
cannot be mistaken. 



TREATMENT BEFORE CALVING. 

Little alteration needs to be made in the management of 
the cow for the first seven months of pregnancy ; except 
that, as she has not only to yield milk for the profit of the 
farmer, but to nourish the growing fcetus within, she should 
be well, yet not too luxuriantly, fed. The half-starved cow 
will not adequately discharge this double duty, nor provide 
sufficient nutriment for the calf when it has dropped ; while 
the cow in high condition will be dangerously disposed to 
inflammation and fever, when, atthe time of parturition, she is 



94 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

otherwise so susceptible of the power of every stimulus. If 
the season and the convenience of the farmer will allow, she 
will be better at pasture, at least for some hours each day, 
than when confined altogether to the cow-house. 

At a somewhat uncertain period before she calves, there 
will be a new secretion of milk for the expected little one ; 
and under the notion of somewhat recruiting her strength, 
in order better to enable her to discharge her new duty — but 
more from the uniform testimony of experience that there is 
danger of local inflammation, general fever, garget in the 
udder, and puerperal fever, if the new milk descends while 
the old milk continues to flow — it has been usual to let the 
cow go dry for some period before parturition. Farmers and 
breeders have been strangely divided as to the length of this 
period. It must be decided by circumstances. A cow in 
good condition may be milked for a much longer period than 
a poor one. Her abundance of food renders a period of 
respite almost unnecessary ; and all that needs to be taken 
care of, is that the old milk should be fairly gone before the 
new milk springs. In such a cow, while there is danger of 
inflammation from the sudden rush of new milk into a bag 
already occupied, there is almost always considerable danger 
of indurations and tumors in the teats from the habit of secre- 
tion being too long suspended. The emaciated and over- 
milked beast, however, must rest a while before she can 
again advantageously discharge the duties of a mother. 

If the period of pregnancy were of equal length at all times 
and in all cows, the one that has been well fed might be 
milked until within a fortnight or three weeks of parturition, 
while a holiday of two months should be granted to the 



TREATMENT BEFORE CALVING. 95 

poorer beast ; but as there is much irregularity about the 
;ime of gestation, it may be prudent to take a month or five 
weeks, as the average period. 

The process of parturition is necessarily one that is accom- 
panied with a great deal of febrile excitement ; and, therefore, 
when it nearly approaches, not only should a little care be 
taken to lessen the quantity of food, and to remove that 
which is of a stimulating action, but a mild dose of physic, 
and a bleeding regulated by the condition of the animal, will 
3e very proper precautionary measures. 

A moderately open state of the bowels is necessary at the 
period of parturition in the cow. During the whole time of 
pregnancy her enormous stomach sufficiently presses upon and 
confines the womb ; and that pressure may be productive of 
injurious and fatal consequences, if at this period the rumen 
is suffered to be distended by innutritious food, or the many- 
plus takes on that hardened state to which it is occasionally 
subject. Breeders have been sadly negligent in this respect. 

The springing of the udder, or the ra^id enlargement of it 
from the renewed secretion of milk — the enlargement of the 
external parts of the bearing (the former, as has been said by 
some, in old cows, and the latter in young ones) — the ap- 
pearance of a glaring discharge from the bearing — the 
evident dropping of the belly, with the appearance of lean- 
ness and narrowness between the shape and the udder — a 
degree of uneasiness and fidgetiness — moaning occasion- 
ally — accelerated respiration — all these symptoms will an- 
nounce that the time of calving is not far off. The cow 
should be brought near home, and put in some quiet, sheltered 
place. In cold or stormy weather she should be housed. 



96 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Her uneasiness will rapidly increase — she will be continually 
getting up and lying down — her tail will begin to be elevated 
and the commencement of the labor-pains will soon be 
evident. 

In most cases the parturition will be natural and easy, and 
the less the cow is disturbed or meddled with, the better. 
She will do better without help than with it ; but she should 
be watched, in order to see that no difficulty occurs which 
may require aid and attention. In cases of difficult parturi- 
tion the aid of a skillful veterinary surgeon may be required. 




No branch of 
dairy farming can 
compare in importance 
with the management 
of cows. The highest success will depend upon it, whatever 
breed be selected, and whatever amount of care and attention 
be given to the points of the animals ; for experience will 
show that very little milk comes out of the bag, that is not 
first put into the throat. It is poor economy, therefore, to 
attempt to keep too many cows for the amount of feed one 
has ; for it will generally be found that one good cow well- 
bred and well fed will yield as much as two ordinary cows 
7 97 



98 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

kept in the ordinary way ; while a saving is effected both in 
labor and room required, and in the risks on the capital 
invested. If an argument for the larger number on poorer 
feed is urged on the ground of the additional manure — which 
is the only basis upon which it can be put — it is enough to 
say that it is a very expensive way of making manure. It is 
not too strong an assertion, that a proper regard to profit 
and economy would require many an American farmer to 
sell off nearly half of his cows, and to feed the whole of his 
hay and roots hitherto used into the remainder. 

An animal, to be fully fed and satisfied, requires a quantity 
of food in proportion to its live weight. No feed is complete 
that does not contain a sufficient amount of nutritive 
elements; hay, for example, being more nutritive than straw, 
and grains than roots. The food, too, must possess a bulk 
sufficient to fill up to a certain degree the organs of digestion 
of the stomach ; and, to receive the full benefit of its food, 
the animal must be wholly satisfied — since, if the stomach is 
not sufficiently distended, the food cannot be properly 
digested, and of course many of the nutritive principles 
which it contains cannot be perfectly assimilated. An 
animal regularly fed eats till it is satisfied, and no more than 
is requisite. A part of the nutritive elements in hay and 
other forage plants is needed to keep an animal on its feet — 
that is, to keep up its condition — and if the nutrition of its 
food is insufficient for this, the weight decreases, and if it is 
more than sufficient the weight increases, or else this excess 
is consumed in the production of milk or in labor. About 
one sixtieth of their live weight in hay, or its equivalent, 
will keep horned cattle on their feet ; but, in order to be 



FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 99 

completely nourished, they require about one thirtieth in dry 
substances, and four thirtieths in water, or other liquid 
contained in their food. The excess of nutritive food over 
and above what is necessary to sustain life will go, in milch 
cows, generally to the production of milk, or to the growth 
of the foetus, but not in all cows to an equal extent ; the 
tendency to the secretion of milk being much more developed 
in some than in others. 

With regard, however, to the consumption of food in pro- 
portion to the live weight of the animal, it must be taken, in 
common with all general principles, with some qualifications. 
The proportion is probably not uniform as applied to all breeds 
indiscriminately, though it may be more so as applied to 
animals of the same breed. The idea of some celebrated 
stock-raisers has been that the quantity of food required 
depends much upon the shape of the barrel ; and it is well 
known that an animal of a close, compact, well-rounded 
barrel, will consume less than one of an opposite make. 

The variations in the yield of milch cows are caused more 
by the variations in the nutritive elements of their food than 
by a change of the form in which it is given. A cow, kept 
through the winter on mere straw, will cease to give milk ; 
and, when fed in spring on green forage, will give a fair 
quantity of milk. But she owes the cessation and restora- 
tion of the secretion, respectively, to the diminution and 
increase of her nourishment, and not at all to the change of 
form, or of outward substance in which the nutriment is 
administered. Let cows receive through winter nearly as 
large a proportion of nutritive matter as is contained in the 
clover, lucerne, and fresh grass which they eat in summer, 



100 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

and, no matter in what precise substance or mixture that 
matter be contained, they will yield a winter's produce of 
milk quite as rich in caseine and butyraceous ingredients as 
the summer's produce, and far more ample in quantity than 
almost any dairyman with old-fashioned notions would imagine 
to be possible. The great practical error on this subject 
consists, not in giving wrong kinds of food, but in not so 
proportioning and preparing it as to render an average ration 
of it equally rich, in the elements of nutrition, and especially 
in nitrogenous elements, as an average, ration of the green 
and succulent food of summer. 

We keep too much stock for the quantity of good and 
nutritious food which we have for it ; and the consequence 
is, that cows are, in nine cases out of ten, poorly wintered, 
and come out in the spring weakened, if not, indeed, posi- 
tively diseased, and a long time is required to bring them 
into a condition to yield a generous quantity of milk. 

It is a hard struggle for a cow reduced in flesh and in 
blood to fill up the wasted system with the food which would 
otherwise have gone to the secretion of milk ; but, if she is 
well fed, well housed, well littered, and well supplied with 
pure, fresh water, and with roots, or other moist food, and 
properly treated to the luxury of a frequent carding, and 
constant kindness, she comes out ready to commence the 
manufacture of milk under favorable circumstances. 

Keep the cows constantly in good condition, ought, there- 
fore, to be the motto of every dairy farmer, posted up over the 
barn, and on and over the stalls, and over the milk-room, 
and repeated to the boys whenever there is danger of for- 
getting it. It is the great secret of success ; and the difference 



FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 101 

between success and failure turns upon it. Cows in milk 
require more food in proportion to their size and weight 
than either oxen or young cattle. 

In order to keep cows in milk well* and economically, regu- 
larity is next in importance to a full supply of wholesome 
and nutritious food. The animal stomach is a very nice 
chronometer, and it is of the utmost importance to observe 
regular hours in feeding, cleaning, and milking. This is a 
point, also, in which very many farmers are at fault — feeding 
whenever it happens to be convenient. The cattle are thus 
kept in a restless condition, constantly expecting food when 
the keeper enters the barn ; while, if regular hours are 
strictly adhered to, they know exactly when they are to be 
fed, and they rest quietly till the time arrives. If one goes 
into any well-regulated dairy establishment an hour before 
feeding, scarcely an animal will rise to its feet ; while, if 
it happens to be the hour of feeding, the whole herd will be 
likely to rise and seize their food with an avidity and relish 
not to be mistaken. 

With respect to the exact nurture to be pursued, no rule 
could be prescribed which would apply to all cases; and 
each individual must be governed much by circumstances, 
both regarding the particular kinds of feed at different seasons 
of the year, and the system of feeding. It has been found — 
it may be stated — in the practice of the most successful 
dairymen, that, in order to encourage the largest secretion 
of milk in stalled cows, one of the best courses is, to feed in 
the morning, either at the time of milking — which is preferred 
by many — or immediately after, with cut feed, consisting of 
hay, oats, millet, or cornstalks, mixed with shorts, and Indian, 



102 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

linseed, or cotton-seed meal, thoroughly moistened with 
water. If in winter, hot or warm water is far better than 
cold. If given at milking-time, the cows will generally give 
down their milk more readily. The stalls and mangers 
should first be thoroughly cleansed. 

Roots and long hay may be given during the day ; and at 
the evening milking, or directly after, another generous meal 

of cut feed, well 
moistened and 
mixed, as in the 
morning. No very 
concentrated food, 
- like grains alone, or 
^2gp oil-cakes, should be 
fed early in the 

THE FAMILY PETS. 

morning on an empty 
stomach, although it is sanctioned by the practice in the 
London milk-dairies. The processes of digestion go on best 
when the stomach is sufficiently distended; and for this 
purpose the bulk of food is almost as important as the nutri- 
tive qualities. The flavor of some roots, as cabbages and 
turnips, is more apt to be imparted to the flesh and milk 
when fed on an empty stomach, than otherwise. After the 
cows have been milked and have finished their cut feed, they 
are carded and curried down, in well-managed dairies, and 
then either watered in the stall — which, in very cold or 
stormy weather, is far preferable — or turned out to water in 
the yard. While they are out, if they are let out at all, the 
stables are put in order ; and, after tying them up, they are 
fed with long hay, and left to themselves till the next feeding 




FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 103 

time. This may consist of roots — such as cabbages, beets, 
carrots, or turnips sliced — or of potatoes, a peck, or — if the 
cows are very large — a half-bushel each, and cut feed again 
at the evening milking, as in the morning ; after which, water 
in the stall, if possible. 

The less cows are exposed to the cold of winter, the better. 
They eat less, thrive better, and give more milk, when kept 
housed all the time, than when exposed to the cold. A case 
is on record, where a herd of cows, which had usually been 
supplied from troughs and pipes in the stalls, were, on 
account of an obstruction in the pipes, obliged to be turned 
out thrice a day to be watered in the yard. The quantity of 
milk instantly decreased, and in three days the diminution 
became very considerable. After the pipes were mended, 
and the cows again watered, as before, in their stalls, the 
flow of milk returned. This, however, must be governed 
much by the weather ; for in very mild and warm days it 
may be judicious not only to let them out, but to allow them 
to remain out for a short time, for the purpose of exercise. 

Any one can arrange the hour for the several processes 
named above, to suit himself ; but, when once fixed, it should 
be rigidly and regularly followed. If the regular and full 
feeding be neglected for even a day, the yield of milk will 
immediately decline, and it will be very difficult to restore it. 
It may be safely asserted, as the result of many trials and 
long practice, that a larger flow of milk follows a complete 
system of regularity in this respect than from a higher feed- 
ing where this system is not adhered to. 

One prime object which the dairyman should keep con- 
stantly in view is, to maintain the animal in a sound and 



104 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

healthy condition. Without this, no profit can be expected 
from a milch cow for any considerable length of time ; and, 
with a view to this, there should be an occasional change of 
food. But, in making changes, great care is requisite in 
order to supply the needful amount of nourishment, or the 
cow will fall off in flesh, and eventually in milk. It should, 
therefore, be remembered that the food consumed goes not 
alone to the secretion of milk, but also to the growth and 
maintenance of the bony structure, the flesh, the blood, the 
fat, the skin, and the hair, and in exhalations from the body. 
These parts of the body consist of different organic constitu- 
ents. Some are rich in nitrogen, as the fibrin of the blood 
and albumen ; others destitute of it, as fat ; some abound in 
inorganic salts, phosphate of lime, and salts of potash. To 
explain how the constant waste of these substances may be 
supplied, a celebrated chemist observes that the albumen, 
gluten, caseine, and other nitrogenized principles of food, 
supply the animal with the materials requisite for the forma- 
tion of muscle and cartilage ; they are, therefore, called flesh- 
forming principles. 

Eats, or oily matters of the food, are used to lay on fat, or 
for the purpose of sustaining respiration. 

Starch, sugar, gum, and a few other non-nitrogenized 
substances, consisting of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, 
supply the carbon given off in respiration, or they are used 
for the production of fat. 

Phosphate of lime and magnesia in food principally furnish 
the animal with the materials of which the bony skeleton of 
its body consists. 

Saline substances — chlorides of sodium and potassium, 



FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 105 

sulphate and phosphate of potash and soda, and some other 
mineral matters occurring in food — supply the blood, juice of 
flesh, and various animal juices, with the necessary mineral 
constituents. ;. 

The healthy state of an animal can thus only be preserved 
by a mixed food ; that is, food which contains all the proxi- 
mate principles just noticed. Starch or sugar alone cannot 
sustain the animal body, since neither of them furnishes the 
materials to build up the fleshy parts of the animal. When 
fed on substances in which an insufficient quantity of phos- 
phates occurs, the animal will become weak, because it does 
not find any bone-producing principle in its food. Due 
attention should, therefore, be paid by the feeder to the 
selection of food which contains all the kinds of matter 
required, nitrogenized as well as non-nitrogenized, and 
mineral substances ; and these should be mixed together in 
the proportion which experience points out as best for the 
different kinds of animals, or the particular purpose for which 
they are kept. 

Relative to the nutrition of cows for dairy purposes, milk 
may be regarded as a material for the manufacture of butter 
and cheese ; and, according to the purpose for which the 
milk is intended to be employed, whether for the manufacture 
of butter or the production of cheese, the cow should be 
differently fed. 

Butter contains carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, and no 
nitrogen. Cheese, on the contrary, is rich in nitrogen. 
Pood which contains much fatty matter, or substances which 
in the animal system are readily converted into fat, will tend 
to increase the proportion of cream in milk. On the other 



106 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

hand, the proportion of caseine or cheesy matter in milk is 
increased by the use of highly nitrogenized food. Those, 
then, who desire much cream, or who produce cream for the 
manufacture of butter, select food likely to increase the pro- 
portion of butter in the milk. On the contrary, where the 
principal object is the production of milk rich in curd — that 
is, where cheese is the object of the farmer — clover, peas, 
bran-meal, and other plants which abound in legumine — a 
nitrogenized organic compound, almost identical in properties 
and composition with caseine, or the substance which forms 
the curd of milk — will be selected. 

And so the quality, as well as the quantity, of butter in 
the milk, depends on the kind of food consumed and on the 
general health of the animal. Cows fed on turnips in the 
stall always produce butter inferior to that of cows living 
upon the fresh and aromatic grasses of the pastures. 

Succulent food in which water abounds — the green grass 
of irrigated meadows, green clover, brewers' and distillers' 
refuse, and the like — increases the quantity, rather than the 
quality, of the milk ; and by feeding these substances the 
milk-dairyman studies his own interest, and makes thin milk 
without diluting it with water — though, in the opinion of 
some, this may be no more legitimate than watering the milk. 

But, though the yield of milk may be increased by succu- 
lent or watery food, it should be given so as not to interfere 
with the health of the cow. 

Food rich in starch, gum, or sugar, which are the respira- 
tory elements, an excess of which goes to the production of 
fatty matters, increases the butter in milk. Quietness pro- 
motes the secretion of fat in animals and increases the butter. 



FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 10T 

Cheese will be increased by food rich in albumen, such as 
the leguminous plants. 

The most natural, and of course the healthiest, food for 
milch cows in summer, is the green grass of the pastures; 




BUYING CATTLE. 

and when these fail from drought or over-stocking, the 
complement of nourishment may be made up with green 
clover, green oats, barley, millet, or corn-fodder and cabbage- 
leaves, or other succulent vegetables; and if these are 
wanting, the deficiency may be partly supplied with shorts, 
Indian-meal, linseed or cotton-seed meal. Green grass is 
more nutritious than hay, which always loses somewhat of 
its nutritive properties in curing ; the amount of the loss 
depending chiefly on the mode of curing, and the length of 
exposure to sun and rain. But, apart from this, grass is 
more easily and completely digested than hay, though the 
digestion of the latter may be greatly aided by cutting and 
moistening, or steaming ; and by this means it is rendered 
more readily available, and hence far better adapted to 
promote a large secretion of milk — a fact too often overlooked 
even by many intelligent farmers. 

In autumn, the best feed will be the grasses of the pastures, 



108 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

so far as they are available, green-corn fodder, cabbage, 
carrot, and turnip leaves, and an addition of meal or shorts. 
Toward the middle of autumn, the cows fed in the pastures 
will require to be housed regularly at night, especially in the 
more northern latitudes, and put, in part at least, upon hay. 
But every farmer knows that it is not judicious to feed out 
the best part of his hay when his cattle are first put into the 
barn, and that he should not feed so well in the early part of 
winter that he cannot feed better as the winter advances. 

At the same time, it should always be borne in mind that 
the change from grass to a poor quality of hay or straw, for 
cows in milk, should not be too sudden. A poor quality of 
dry hay is far less palatable in the early part of winter, after 
the cows aretaken from grass, than at a later period; and, 
if it is resorted to with milch cows, will invariably lead, to a 
falling off in the milk, which no good feed can afterward 
wholly restore. 

It is desirable, therefore, for the farmer to know what can 
be used instead of his best English or upland meadow hay, 
and yet not suffer any greater loss in the flow of milk, or in 
condition, than is absolutely necessary. In some sections of 
the Eastern States, the best quality of swale hay will be 
used ; and the composition of that is as variable as possible, 
depending on the varieties of the grasses of which it was 
made, and the manner of curing. But, in other sections, 
many will find it necessary to use straw and other substitutes. 
Taking good English or meadow hay as the standard of 
comparison, and calling that one, 4. 19 times the weight of 
rye-straw, or 3. 83 times the weight of oat-straw, contains 
th» same amount of nutritive matter ; that is, it would take 



FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 109 

4.79 times as good rye-straw to produce the same result as 
good meadow hay. 

In winter, the best food for cows in milk will be good 
sweet meadow hay, a part of which should be cut and 
moistened with water — as all inferior hay or straw should 
be — with an addition of root-crops, such as turnips, carrots, 
parsnips, potatoes, mangold-wurtzel, with shorts, oil-cake, 
Indian meal, or bean meal. 

It is the opinion of most successful dairymen that the 
feeding of moist food cannot be too highly recommended for 
cows in milk, especially to those who desire to obtain the 
largest quantity. Hay cut and thoroughly moistened becomes 
more succulent and nutritive, and partakes more of the nature 
of green grass. 

As a substitute for the oil-cake, hitherto known as an 
exceedingly valuable article for feeding stock, there is pro- 
bably nothing better than cotton -seed meal. This is an 
article whose economic value has been but recently made 
known, but which, from practical trials already made, has 
proved eminently successful as food for milch cows. Chemists 
have decided that its composition is not inferior to that of 
the best flaxseed cake, and that in some respects its agricul- 
tural value surpasses that of any other kind of oil-cake. 

It has been remarked by chemists, in this connection, that 
the great value of linseed-cake, as an adjunct to hay, for fat 
cattle and milch cows, has been long recognized ; and that it 
is undeniably traceable, in the main, to three ingredients of 
the seeds of the oil-yielding plants. The value of food 
depends upon the quantities of matters it contains which may 
be appropriated by the animal which consumes the food. 



110 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Now, it is proved that the fat of animals is derived from the 
starch, gum, and sugar, and more directly and easily from 
the oil of the food. These four substances, then, are fat- 
formers. The muscles, nerves, and tendons of animals, the 
fibrine of their blood and the curd of their milk, are almost 
identical in composition with, and strongly similar in many 
of their properties to, matters found in all vegetables, but 
chiefly in such as form the most concentrated food. These 
blood (and muscle) formers are characterized by containing 
about fifteen and a half per cent, of nitrogen ; and hence are 
called nitrogenous substances. They are, also, often desig- 
nated as the albuminous bodies. 

The bony framework of the animal owes its solidity to 
phosphate of lime, and this substance must be furnished by 
the food. A perfect food must supply the animal with these 
three classes of bodies, and in proper proportions. The 
addition of a small quantity of a food, rich in oil and albu- 
minous substances, to the ordinary kinds of feed, which 
contain a large quantity of vegetable fibre or woody matter, 
more or less indigestible, but, nevertheless, indispensable to 
the herbivorous animals, their digestive organs being adapted 
to a bulky food, has been found highly advantageous in 
practice. Neither hay alone nor concentrated food alone 
gives the best results. A certain combination of the two 
presents the most advantages. 

Some who have used cotton-seed cake have found difficulty 
in inducing cattle to eat it. By giving it at first in small 
doses, mixed with other palatable food, they soon learn to 
eat it with relish. Cotton-seed cake is much richer in oils 
and albuminous matters than the linseed cake. A corre- 



FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. Ill 

spondingly less quantity will therefore be required. Three 
pounds of this cotton-seed cake are equivalent to four of 
linseed cake of average quality. 

During the winter season, as has been already remarked, 
a frequent change of food is especially necessary, both as 
contributions to the general health of animals, and as a means 
of stimulating the digestive organs, and thus increasing the 
secretion of milk. A mixture used as cut feed and well 
moistened is now especially beneficial, since concentrated 
food, which would otherwise be given in small quantities, 
may be united with larger quantities of coarser and less 
nutritive food, and the complete assimilation of the whole be 
better secured. On this subject it has been sensibly observed 
that the most nutritious kinds of food produce little or no 
effect when they are not digested by the stomach, or if the 
digested food is not absorbed by the lymphatic vessels, and 
not assimilated by the various parts of the body. Now, the 
normal functions of the digestive organs not only depend 
upon the composition of the food, but also on its volume, 
The volume or bulk of the food contributes to the healthy 
action of the digestive organs, by exercising a stimulating 
effect upon the nerves which govern them. Thus the whole 
organization of ruminating animals necessitates the supply of 
bulky food, to keep the animal in good condition. 

Feed sweet and nutritious food, therefore, frequently, regu- 
larly, and in small quantities, and change it often, and the 
best results may be confidently anticipated. If the cows are 
not in milk, but are to come in in the spring, the difference 
in feeding should be rather in the quantity than the quality, 



112 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



if the highest yield is to be expected from them during the 
coming season. 

The most common feeding is hay alone, and oftentimes 
very poor hay at that. The main point is to keep the animal 
in a healthy and thriving condition, 
and not to suffer her to fail in flesh ; 
SBSIPBlllBlB' and with this object, some change 

and 





CALLING IN THE CATTLE. 



gin to come in, or approach their time of calving. Care 
should then be taken not to feed too rich or stimulating food 
for the last week or two before this event, as it is often 
attended with ill consequences. A plenty of hay, a few 
potatoes or shorts, and pure water will suffice. 

In spring, the best feeding for dairy cows will be much 
the same as that for winter ; the roots in store over winter, 
such as carrots, mangold wurtzel, turnips, and parsnips, 
furnishing very valuable aid in increasing the quantity and 
improving the quality of milk. Toward the close of this 



FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 113 

season, and before the grass of pastures is sufficiently grown 
to make it judicious to turn out the cows, the best dairymen 
provide a supply of green fodder in the shape of winter rye, 
which, if cut while it is tender and succulent, and before it 
is half grown, will be greatly relished. Unless cut young, 
however, its stalk soon becomes hard and unpalatable. 

All practical dairymen agree in saying that a warm and 
well- ventilated barn is indispensable to the promotion of the 
highest yield of milk in winter ; and most agree that cows in 
milk should not be turned out, even to drink, in cold weather ; 
all exposure to cold tending to lessen the yield of milk. 

In the London dairies, in which, of course, the cows are 
fed so as to produce the largest flow of milk, the treatment 
is as follows : The cows are kept at night in stalls. About 
three A. M. each has a half-bushel of grains. When milking 
is finished, each receives a bushel of turnips (or mangolds), 
and shortly afterward, one tenth of a truss of hay of the best 
quality. This feeding occurs before eight A. M., when the 
animals are turned into the yard. Four hours after, they 
are again tied up in their stalls, and have another feed of 
grains. When the afternoon milking is over (about three 
P. M.), they are fed with a bushel of turnips, and after the 
lapse of an hour, hay is given them as before. This mode of 
feeding usually continues throughout the cool season, or 
from November to March. During the remaining months 
they are fed with grains, tares, and cabbages, and a propor- 
tion of rowen, or second-cut hay. They are supplied regu- 
larly until they are turned out to grass, when they pass the 
whole of the night in the field. The yield is about six 
hundred and fifty gallons a year for each cow. 



114 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Mr. Harley — whose admirable dairy establishment was 
erected for the purpose of supplying the city of Glasgow 
with a good quality of milk, and which has contributed more 
than any thing else to improve the quality of the milk 
furnished to all the principal cities of Great Britain — adopted 
the following system of feeding with the greatest profit : In 
the early part of the summer, young grass and green barley, 
the first cutting especially, mixed with a large proportion of 
old hay or straw, and a good quantity of salt to prevent 
swelling, were used. As summer advanced, less hay and 
straw were given, and as the grass approached ripeness, 
they were discontinued altogether ; but young and wet clover 
was never given without an admixture of dry provender. 
When grass became scarce, young turnips and turnip leaves 
were steamed with hay, and formed a good substitute. As 
grass decreased, the turnips were increased, and at length 
became a complete substitute. As the season advanced, a 
large proportion of distillers' grains and wash was given with 
other food, but these were found to have a tendency to make 
the cattle grain-sick ; and if this feeding were long-continued, 
the health of the cows became affected. Boiled linseed and 
short-cut wheat-straw mixed with the grains, were found to 
prevent the cows from turning sick. As spring approached, 
Swedish turnips, when cheap, were substituted for yellow 
turnips. These two roots, steamed with hay and other 
mixtures, afforded safe food till grass was again in season. 
When any of the oows were surfeited, the food was withheld 
till the appetite returned, when a small quantity was given, 
and increased gradually to the full allowance. 

But the most elaborate and valuable experiments in the 



TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT. 115 

feeding and management of milch cows, are those made, not 
long since, by Mr. T. Horsfall, of England, and published 
in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society. His 
practice, though adapted more especially, perhaps, to his own 
section, is nevertheless of such general application and im- 
portance as to be worthy of attention. By his course of 
treatment he found that he could produce as much and as 
rich butter in winter as in summer. 

His first object was to afford a full supply of the elements 
of food adapted to the maintenance, and also to the produce 
of the animal ; and this could not be effected by the ordinary 
food and methods of feeding, since it is impossible to induce 
a cow to consume a quantity of hay requisite to supply the 
waste of the system, and keep up, at the same time, a full 
yield of the best quality of milk. He used, to some extent, 
cabbages, kohl rabi, mangolds, shorts, and other substances, 
rich in the constituents of cheese and butter. " My food for 
milch cows," says he, " after having undergone various modi- 
fications, has for two seasons consisted of rape cake five 
pounds, and bran two pounds, for each cow, mixed with a 
sufficient quantity of bean-straw, oat-straw, and shells of oats, 
in equal proportions, to supply them three times a day 
with as much as they will eat. The whole of the materials 
are moistened and blended together, and, after being well 
steamed, are given to the animal in a warm state. The 
attendant is allowed one pound to one pound and a half per 
cow, according to circumstances, of bean-meal, which he is 
charged to give to each cow in proportion to the yield of 
milk ; those in full milk getting each two pounds per day, 
others but little. It is dry, and mixed with the steamed 



116 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

food on its being dealt out separately. When this is eaten 
up, green food is given, consisting of cabbages, from October 
to December, kohl rabi till February, and mangold till grass 
time, with a view to nicety of flavor. I limit the quantity 
of green food to thirty or thirty-five pounds per day for each. 
After each feed, four pounds of meadow hay, or twelve pounds 
per day, is given to each cow. They are allowed water 
twice a day, to the extent which they will drink." 

Bean-straw uncooked having been found to be hard and 
unpalatable, it was steamed to make it soft and pulpy, when 
it possessed an agreeable odor, and imparted its flavor to the 
whole mass. It was cut for this purpose just before ripening, 
but after the bean was fully grown, and in this state was 
found to possess nearly double the amount of albuminous 
matter, so valuable to milch cows, of good meadow or upland 
hay. Bran or shorts is also vastly improved by steaming or 
soaking with hot water, when its nutriment is more readily 
assimilated. It contains about fourteen per cent, of albumen, 
and is rich in phosphoric acid. Rape-cake was found to be 
exceedingly valuable. Linseed and cotton -seed cake may 
probably be substituted for it in this country. 

Mr. Horsfall turned his cows in May into a rich pasture, 
housing them at night, and giving them a mess of the steamed 
mixture and some hay morning and night ; and from June to 
October they had cut grass in the stall, besides what they 
got in the pasture, and two feeds of the steamed mixture a 
day. After the beginning of October the cows were kept 
housed. With such management his cows generally yielded 
from twelve to sixteen quarts of milk (wine measure) a day, 
for about eight months after calving, when they fell off in 




FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. lit 

milk, but gained in flesh, up to calving-time. In this course 
of treatment the manure was far better than the average, and 
his pastures constantly improved. The average amount of 
butter from 
every six- 
teen quarts 
of milk was 
twenty-five 
ounce s — a 
proportion 
far larger 
than the average. 

How widely does this course « on the rampage. 

of treatment differ from that of most farmers ! The object 
with many seems to be, to seewith how little food they can 
keep the cow alive. From a correct point of view, the milch 
cow should be regarded as an instrument of transformation. 
The question should be — with so much hay, so much grain, 
so many roots, how can the most milk, or butter, or cheese, 
be made ? The conduct of a manufacturer who owned good 
machinery, and an abundance of raw material, and had the 
labor at hand, would be considered very senseless, if he 
hesitated to supply the material, and keep the machinery at 
work, at least so long as he could run it with profit. 

Stimulate the appetite, then, and induce the cow to eat, 
by a frequent change of diet, not merely enough to supply 
the constant waste of her system, but enough and to spare, 
of a food adapted to the production of milk of the quality 
desired. 



118 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

SOILING. 

Of the advantages of soiling milch cows — that is, feeding 
exclusively in the barn — there are yet many conflicting 
opinions. As to its economy of land and feed there can be 
no question, it being generally admitted that a given number 
of animals may be abundantly fed on a less space ; nor is 
there much question as to the increased quantity of milk 
yielded in stall feeding. Its economy, in this country, turns 
rather upon the cost of labor and time ; and the question 
raised by the dairyman is, whether it will pay — whether its 
advantages are sufficient to balance the extra expense of 
cutting and feeding, over and above cropping on the pasture. 
The importance of this subject has been strongly impressed 
upon the attention of farmers in many sections of the 
country, by a growing conviction that something must be 
done to improve the pastures, or that they must be abandoned 
altogether. 

Thousands of acres of neglected pasture-land in the older 
States are so poor and worn out that from four to eight acres 
furnish but a miserable subsistence for a good-sized cow. 
No animal can flourish under such circumstances. The labor 
and exertion of feeding are too great, to say nothing of the 
vastly inferior quality of the grasses in such pastures, com- 
pared with those on more recently seeded lands. True 
economy would dictate that such pastures should either be 
allowed to run to wood, or be devoted to sheep-walks, or 
ploughed and improved. Cows, to be able to yield well, 
must have plenty of food of a sweet and nutritious quality ; 



SOILING. 119 

and, unless they find it, they wander over a large space, if at 
liberty, and thus deprive themselves of rest. 

If a farmer or dairyman unfortunately owns such pastures, 
there can be no question that, as a matter of real economy, 
he had better resort to the soiling system for his milch cows ; 
by which means he will largely increase his annual supply 
of good manure, and thus have the means of improving, and 
bringing his land to a higher state of cultivation. A very 
successful instance of this management occurs in the report 
of the visiting committee of an agricultural society in Massa- 
chusetts, in which they say : " We have now in mind a 
farmer in this county who keeps seven or eight cows in the 
stable through the summer, and feeds them on green fodder, 
chiefly Indian corn. We asked him his reasons for it. His 
answer was : 1. That he gets more milk than he can by any 
other method. 2. That he gets more manure, especially 
liquid manure. 3. That he saves it all, by keeping a supply 
of mud or mould under the stable, to be taken out and re- 
newed as often as necessary. 4. That it is less troublesome 
than to drive his cows to pasture ; that they are less vexed 
by flies, and have equally good health. 5. That his mowing 
land is every year growing more productive, without the 
expense of artificial manure.— He estimates that on an acre 
of good land twenty tons of green fodder may be raised. 
That which is dried is cut fine, and mixed with meal or 
shorts, and fed with profit. He believes that a reduced and 
worn-out farm — supposing the land to be naturally good — 
could be brought into prime order in five years, without any 
extra outlay of money for manure, by the use of green fodder 
in connection with the raising and keeping of pigs ; not fat- 



120 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

teiiing them, but selling at the age of four or five months." 
He keeps most of his land in grass, improving its quality and 
productiveness by means of top-dressing, and putting money 
in his pocket — which is, after all, the true test both for theory 
and practice. 

Another practical case on this point is that of a gentleman 
in the same State who had four cows, but not a rod of land 
on which to pasture them. They were, therefore, never out 
of the barn — or, at least, not out of the yard — and were fed' 
with grass, regularly mown for them ; with green Indian 
corn and fodder, which had been sown broadcast for the 
purpose ; and with about three pints of meal a day. Their 
produce in butter was kept for thirteen weeks. Two of them 
were but two years old, having calved the same spring. 
All the milk of one of them was taken by her calf for six 
weeks out of the thirteen, and some of the milk of the other 
was taken for family use, the quantity of which* was not 
measured. These heifers could not, therefore, be estimated 
as equal to more than one cow in full milk. And yet from 
these cows no less than three hundred and eighty-nine 
pounds of butter were made in the thirteen weeks. Another 
pound would have made an average of thirty pounds a week 
for the whole time. 

It appears from these and other similar instances of soiling, 
or stall-feeding in summer on green crops cut for the 
purpose, that the largely increased quantity of the yield fully 
compensates for the slightly deteriorated quality. And 
not only is the quantity yielded by each cow increased, but 
the same extent of land, under the same culture, will carry 
double or treble the number of ordinary pastures, and keep 



SOILING. 121 

them in better condition. There is also a saving of manure. 
But with us the economy of soiling is the exception, and not 
the rule. 

In adopting this system of feeding, regularity is required 
as much as in any other, and a proper variety of food. A 
succession of green crops should be provided, as near as 
convenient to the stable. The first will naturally be winter 
rye, in the Northern States, as that shoots up with great 
luxuriance. Winter rape would probably be an exceedingly 
valuable addition to the plants usually cultivated for soiling 
in this country, in sections where it would withstand the 
severity of the winter. Cabbages, kept in the cellar or pit, 
and transplanted early, will also come in here to advantage, 
and clover will very soon follow them ; oats, millet, and 
green Indian-corn, as the season advances ; and, a little later 
still, perhaps, the Chinese sugar-cane, which should not be 
cut till headed out. These plants, in addition to other culti- 
vated grasses, will furnish an unfailing succession of succu- 
lent and tender fodder ; while the addition of a little Indian, 
linseed, or cotton-seed meal will be found economical. 

In the vicinity of large towns and cities, where the object 
is too often to feed for the largest quantity, without reference 
to quality, an article known as distillers' swill, or still-slop, is 
extensively used. This, if properly fed in limited quantities, 
in combination with other and more bulky food, may be a 
valuable article for the dairyman ; but, if given — as it too 
often is — without the addition of other kinds of food, it soon 
affects the health and constitution of the animals fed on it. 
This swill contains a considerable quantity of water, some 
nitrogenous compounds, and some inorganic matter, in the 



122 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

shape of phosphates and alkaline salts found in the different 
kinds of grain of which it is made up, as Indian corn, wheat, 
barley, rye, and the like. Where this forms the principal 
food of milch cows, the milk is of a very poor quality — blue 
in color, and requiring the addition of coloring substances to 
make it saleable. It contains, often, less than one per cent, 
of butter, and seldom over one and three-tenths or one and a 
half per cent. — while good, saleable milk should contain from 
three to five per cent. It will not coagulate, it is said, in less 
than five or six hours ; while good milk will invariably coagu- 
late in an hour or less, under the same conditions. Its effect 
on the system of young children is, therefore, very destruc- 
tive, causing diseases of various kinds, and, if continued, 
death. 

So pernicious have been the consequences resulting from 
the use of this " swill-milk," as it is called, in the largest city 
of this country, that the Legislature of the State of New 
York, at a recent session (1861-2), interfered in behalf of 
the community by making the sale of the article a penal 
offence. 

CULTUBE OF GKASSES FOB FODDEB. 

As has been already stated, the grasses in summer, and 
hay in winter, form the most natural and important food for 
milch cows ; and, whatever other crops come in as additional, 
these will form the basis of all systems of feeding. 

The nutritive qualities of the grasses differ widely ; and 
their value as feed for cows will depend, to a considerable 
extent, on the management of pastures and mowing-lands. 
Some considerations bearing upon the subject of the proper 



CULTURE OP GRASSES FOR FODDER. 



123 



cultivation of these leading articles of food are, therefore, 
proposed in this article. 

If the turf of an old pasture is carefully examined, it will 
be found to contain a large variety of plants and grasses 
adapted for for- 



age 



some of 




PATIENTLY WAITING. 



them valuable 
for one purpose, 
and some for 
another. Some 
of them, though 
possessing a 
lower percent- 
age of nutritive 
constituents 
than others, are 

particularly esteemed for an early and luxuriant growth, 
furnishing sweet feed in early spring, before other grasses 
appear ; some of them, for starting more rapidly than others, 
after having been eaten off by cattle, and, consequently, of 
great value as pasture grasses. Most grasses will be found 
to be of a social character, and to do best in a large mixture 
With other varieties. 

In forming a mixture for pasture grasses, the peculiar 
qualities of each species should, therefore, be regarded : as 
the time of flowering, the habits of growth, the soil and 
location on which it grows best, and other characteristics. 

Among the grasses found on cultivated lands in this 
country, the following are considered as among the most 
valuable for ordinary farm cultivation ; some of them being 



124 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

adapted to pastures, and others almost exclusively to mowing 
and the hay-crop : Timothy, Meadow Foxtail, June or Ken- 
tucky Blue Grass, Fowl Meadow, Rough-stalked Meadow, 
Orchard Grass, Perennial Rye Grass, Italian Rye Grass, 
Redtop, English Bent, Meadow Fescue, Tall Oat Grass, 
Sweet-scented Yernal, Hungarian Grass, Red Clover, White 
or Dutch Clover, and some others. 

Of these, the most valuable, all things considered, is 
Timothy. It forms a large proportion of what is commonly 
called English, or in some sections meadow, hay, though it 
originated and was first cultivated in this country. It 
contains a large percentage of nutritive matter, in comparison 
with other agricultural grasses. It thrives best on moist, 
peaty, or loamy soils, of medium tenacity, and is not well 
suited to very light, sandy lands. On very moist soils, its 
root is almost always fibrous ; while on dry and loamy ones 
it is bulbous. On soils of the former description, which it 
especially affects, its growth is rapid, and its yield of hay 
large, sometimes amounting to three or four tons the acre, 
depending much, of course, upon cultivation. But, though 
very valuable for hay, it is not adapted for pasture, as it will 
neither endure severe grazing, nor is its aftermath to be 
compared with that of meadow foxtail, and some of the other 
grasses. 

June Grass, better known in some sections as Kentucky 
Blue Grass, is very common in most sections of the country, 
especially on limestone lands, forming a large part of the turf, 
wherever it flourishes, and being held in universal esteem 
as a pasture grass. It starts early, but varies much in size 
and appearance, according to the soil; growing in some 



CULTURE OF GRASSES FOR FODDER. 125 

places with the utmost luxuriance, and forming the predomi- 
nant grass ; in others, yielding to the other species. If cut 
at the time of flowering, or a few days after, it makes a good 
and nutritious hay, though it is surpassed in nutritive quali- 
ties by several of the other grasses. It starts slowly after 
having been cut, especially if not cut very early. But its 
herbage is fine and uniform, and admirably adapted to lawns, 
growing well in almost all soils, though it does not endure 
very severe droughts. It withstands, however, the frosts of 
winter better than most other grasses. 

In Kentucky — a section where it attains its highest per- 
fection and luxuriance, ripening its seeds about the tenth of 
June — and in latitudes south of that, it sometimes continues 
green through the mild winters. It requires three or four 
years to become well set, after sowing, and it does not attain 
its highest yield as a pasture grass till the sod is even older 
than that. It is not, therefore, suited to alternate husbandry, 
where land usually remains in grass but two or three years 
before being ploughed up. In Kentucky, it is sown any 
time in winter when the sun is on the ground, three or four 
quarts of seed being used to the acre. In spring the seeds 
germinate, when the sprouts are exceedingly fine and delicate. 
Stock is not allowed on it the first year. 

The Meadow Foxtail is also an excellent pasture grass. 
It somewhat resembles Timothy, but is earlier, has a softer 
spike, and thrives on all soils except the dryest. Its growth 
is rapid, and it is greatly relished by stock of all kinds. Its 
stalks and leaves are too few and light for a field crop, and it 
shrinks too much in curing to be valuable for hay. It 
flourishes best in a rich, moist, and rather strong soil, sending 



126 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

up a luxuriant aftermath when cut or grazed off, which is 
much more valuable, both in quality and nutritive value, 
than the first crop. In all lands designed for permanent 
pasture, therefore, it should form a considerable part of a 
mixture. It will endure almost any amount of forcing, by 
liquid manures or irrigation. It requires three or four years, 
after soiling, to gain a firm footing in the soil. The seed is 
covered with tbe soft and woolly husks of the flower, and is 
consequently light ; weighing but five pounds to the bushel, 
and containing seventy-six thousand seeds to the ounce. 

The Orchard Grass, or Rough Cocksfoot, for pastures, 
stands pre-eminent. This is a native of this country, and 
was introduced into England, from Virginia, in IT 64, since: 
which time its cultivation has extended into every country 
of Europe, where it is universally held in very high estima- 
tion. The fact of its being very palatable to stock of all? 
kinds, its rapid growth, and the luxuriance of its aftermath, 
with its power of enduring the cropping of cattle, have given 
it a very high reputation, especially as a pasture grass. It 
blossoms earlier than Timothy; when green, is equally 
relished by milch cows ; requires to be fed closer, to prevent 
its forming tufts and growing up to seed, when it becomes 
hard and wiry, and loses much of its nutritive quality. As 
it blossoms about the same time, it forms an admirable 
mixture with red clover, either for permanent pasture or 
mowing. It resists drought, and is less exhausting to the. 
soil than either rye grass or Timothy. The seed weighs 
twelve pounds to the bushel, and when sown alone requires 
about two bushels to the acre. 

The Rough- Stalked Meadow Grass is somewhat less 



CULTURE OF GRASSES FOR FODDER. 127 

common than the June grass, but is considered equally 
valuable. It grows best on moist, sheltered meadows, where 
it flowers in June and July. It is readily distinguished from 
June grass by its having a rough sheath, while the latter has 
a smooth one, and by having a fibrous root, while the root 
of the other is creeping. It possesses very considerable 
outritive qualities, and comes to perfection at a desirable 
time, and is exceedingly relished by cattle, horses and sheep. 
For suitable soils it should form a portion of a mixture of 
seeds, producing, in mixture with other grasses which serve 
to shelter it, a large yield of hay, far above the average of 
grass usually sown on a similar soil. It should be cut when 
the seed is formed. Seven pounds of seed to the acre will 
make a good sward. The grass loses about seventy per 
cent, of its weight in drying. The nutritive qualities of its 
aftermath exceed very considerably those of the crop cut in 
the flower or in the seed. 

Fowl Meadow Grass is another indigenous species, of 
great value for low and marshy grounds, where it flourishes 
best ; and, if cut and properly cured, makes a sweet and 
nutritious hay, which, from its fineness, is eaten by cows 
without waste. According to Sinclair — who experimented, 
with the aid of Sir Humphrey Davy, to ascertain its com- 
parative nutritive properties — it is superior in this respect to 
either meadow foxtail, orchard grass, or tall meadow oat 
grass ; but it is probable that he somewhat overrates it. If 
allowed to stand till nearly ripe, it falls down, but sends up 
innumerable flowering stems from the joints, so that it con- 
tinues green and luxuriant till late in the season. It thrives 
best in mixture with other grasses, and deserves a prominent 



128 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

place in all mixtures for rich, moist pastures, and low mow- 
ing-lands. 

Rye Grass has a far higher reputation abroad than in this 
country, and probably with reason ; for it is better adapted 
to a wet and uncertain climate than to a dry and hot one. 
It varies exceedingly, depending much on soil and culture 
but, when cut in the blossom to make into hay, it possesses 
very considerable nutritive power. If allowed to get too 
ripe, it is hard and wiry, and not relished by cows. The 
change from a juicy and nutritious plant to a woody fibre, 
containing but little soluble matter, is very rapid. Properly 
managed, however, it is a tolerably good grass, though not 
to be compared to Timothy, or orchard grass. 

Redtop is a grass familiar to every farmer in the country. 
It is the Herd's grass of Pennsylvania, while in New York 
and New England it is known by a great variety of names 
and assumes a great variety of forms, according to the soil in 
which it grows. It is well adapted to almost every soil, 
though it seems to prefer a moist loam. It makes a profita- 
ble crop for spending, in the form of hay, though its yield is 
less than that of Timothy. It is well suited to our perma- 
nent pastures, where it should be fed close, otherwise it 
becomes wiry and innutritious, and cattle refuse it. It 
stands the climate of the country as well as any other grass, 
and so forms a valuable part of any mixture for pastures and 
permanent mowing-lands ; but it is, probably, rather over- 
rated by us. 

English Bent, known also by a number of other names, 
is largely cultivated in some sections. It closely resembles 
redtop, but may be distinguished from it by the roughness of 



' CULTURE OF GRASSES FOR FODDER. 129 

the sheaths when the hand is drawn from above downward. 
It possesses about the same qualities as redtop. 

Meadow Fescue is one of the most common of the fescue 
grasses, and is said to be the Randall grass of Virginia. It 
is an excellent pasture grass, forming a very considerable 
portion of the turf of old pasture lands and fields ; and is 
more extensively propagated and diffused from the fact that 
it ripens its seeds before most other grasses are cut, and 
sheds them to spring up and cover the ground. Its long and 
tender leaves are much relished by cattle. It is rarely sown 
in this country, notwithstanding its great and acknowledged 
value as a pasture grass. If sown at all, it should be in 
mixture with other grasses, as orchard grass, and rye grass, 
or June grass. It is of much greater value at the time of 
flowering than when the seed is ripe. 

The Tall Oat Grass is the Ray grass of France. It" 
furnishes a luxuriant supply of foliage, is valuable either for 




A CHANCE FOR A SELECTION. 

hay or for pasture, and has been especially recommended for 
soiling purposes, on account of its early and luxuriant 



130 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

growth. It is often found on the borders of fields and 
hedges, woods and pastures, and is sometimes very plenty in 
mowing-lands. After having been mown it shoots up a very 
thick aftermath, and, on this account, partly, is regarded of 
nearly equal excellence with the common foxtail. 

It grows spontaneously on deep, sandy soils, when once 
naturalized. It has been cultivated to a considerable extent 
in this country, and is esteemed by those who know it mainly 
for its early, rapid, and late growth, making it very well 
calculated as a permanent pasture grass. It will succeed on 
tenacious clover soil. 

The Sweet- Scented Vernal Grass is one of the earliest 
in spring and one of the latest in autumn ; and this habit of 
growth is one of its chief excellencies, as it is neither a 
nutritious grass, nor very palatable to stock of any kind, nor 
does it yield a very good crop. It is very common in New 
England and all over the Middle States, coming into old 
worn-out fields and moist pastures spontaneously, and along 
every roadside. It derives its name from its sweetness of 
odor when partially wilted or crushed in the hand, and it is 
this chiefly which gives the delicious fragrance to all new- 
mown hay. It is almost the only grass that possesses a 
strongly-marked aromatic odor, which is imparted to other 
grasses with which it is cured. Its seed weighs eight pounds 
to the bushel. In mixtures for permanent pastures it may be 
of some value. 

Hungarian Grass, or millet, is an annual forage plant, 
introduced into France in 1815, and more recently into this 
country. It germinates readily, and withstands the drought 
remarkably, remaining green when other grasses are parched 



CULTURE OF GRASSES FOR FODDER. 131 

and dried up. It lias numerous succulent leaves which 
furnish an abundance of sweet fodder, greatly relished by- 
stock of all kinds. It attains its greatest luxuriance on soils 
of medium consistency and richness, but does very well on 
light and dry plains. 

Red Clover is an artificial grass of the leguminous family, 
and one of the most valuable cultivated plants for feeding to 
dairy cows. It flourishes best on tenacious soils and stiff 
loams. Its growth is rapid, and a few months after sowing 
are sufficient to supply an abundant sweet and nutritious 
food. In the climate of New England, clover should be 
sown in the spring of the year, while most of the natural 
grasses do far better when sown in the fall. It is often sown 
with perfect success on the late snows of March or April, 
and soon finds its way down into the soil and takes a vigor- 
ous hold with its root. It is valuable not only as a forage 
plant, but as shading the ground, and thereby increasing its 
fertility. 

The introduction of clover among the cultivated plants of 
the farm has done more, perhaps, for modern agriculture than 
that of any other single plant. It is now considered indis- 
pensable in all good dairy districts. 

White Clover, often called Honeysuckle, is also widely 
diffused over this country, to which it is undoubtedly indig- 
enous. As a mixture in all pasture grasses it holds a very 
high rank, as it is exceedingly sweet and nutritious, and 
relished by all kinds of stock. It grows most luxuriantly in 
moist grounds and moist seasons, but easily accommodates 
itself to a great variety of circumstances. 

With respect to the mixtures of grass-seeds most profitable 



132 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



for the dairy farmer, no universal rule can be given, as they 
depend very much upon the nature of the soil and the 
locality. The most important point to be observed, and the 
one as to which, probably, the greatest deficiency exists, is 
to use a large number of species, with smaller quantities of 
each than those most commonly used. This is Nature's rule ; 
for, in examining the turf of a rich old pasture, a large 
number of different species will be found growing together, 
while, if the turf of a field sown without two or three species 
is examined, a far less number of plants is found to the 
square foot, even after the sod is fairly set. In the opinion 
of the most competent judges, no improvement in grass 
culture is more important than this. 

As an instance of what he would consider an improvement 
on the ordinary mixtures for permanent pastures, Mr. Flint, 
in his "Milch Cows and Dairy Fanning," suggests the 
following as likely to give satisfactory results, dependent, of 
course, to a considerable extent, on the nature and prepara- 
tion of the soil : 

Meadow Foxtail, flowering in May and June, 2 pounds. 



Orchard Grass, " 


n 


a it 


6 


Sweet-scented Yernal, " 


a 


April and May, 


1 


Meadow Fescue, " 


it 


May and June, 


2 


Redtop, " 


a 


June and July, 


2 


June Grass, " 


it 


May and June, 


4 


Italian Rye Grass, " 


tt 


June, 


4 


Perennial do., " 


a 


it it 


6 


Timothy, " 


tt 


June and July, 


3 


Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, 


a a 


2 


Perennial Clover, flowering 


in 


June, , 


3 



White Clover, 



May to September 5-40 



CULTURE OF GRASSES FOR FODDER. . 133 

For mowing-lands the mixture would, of course, be some- 
what changed. The meadow foxtail and sweet-scented 
vernal would be left out entirely, and some six or eight 
pounds added to the Timothy and red clover. The proper 
time to lay down lands to grass in the latitude of New 
England is August or September, and no grain crop should 
be sown with the seed. 

Stiff or clayey pastures should never be overstocked, but 
when fed pretty close the grasses are far sweeter and more 
nutritious than when they are allowed to grow up rank and 
coarse ; and if, by a want of sufficient feeding, they get the 
start of the stock, and grow into rank tufts, they should be 
cut and removed, when a fresh grass will start up, similar to 
the aftermath of mowing-lands, which will be eaten with 
avidity. Grasses for curing into hay should be cut either at 
the time of flowering, or just before, especially if designed for 
milch cows. They are then more succulent and juicy, and, 
if properly cured, form the sweetest food. 

Grass cut in the blossom will make more milk than if 
allowed to stand later. Cut a little before the blossoming ; it 
will make more than when in blossom, and the cows prefer 
it, which is by no means an unimportant consideration, since 
their tastes should always be consulted. Grass cut some- 
what green, and properly cured, is next to fresh, green grass 
in palatable, nutritive qualities. Every farmer knows the 
milk-producing properties of rowen, or second crop, which is 
generally cut before it ripens. 

]STo operation on the farm is of greater importance to the 
dairyman than the cutting of his grass and the manner of 
curing hay ; and in this respect the practice over the country 



134 • CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

generally is susceptible of very marked improvement. The 
chief object is to preserve the sweetness and succulence of 
the grass in its natural state, so far as possible ; and this 
object cannot be attained by exposing it too long to the 
scorching suns and drenching rains to which our climate is 
liable. As a general thing, farmers try to make their hay 
too much. 

As to the best modes of curing clover, the following, 
among others, is adopted by many successful farmers : What 
is mown in the morning is left in the swath, to be turned 
over early in the afternoon. At about four o'clock, or while 
it is still warm, it is put into small cocks with a fork, and, if 
the weather is favorable, it may be housed on the fourth or 
fifth day, the cocks being turned over on the morning of the 
day in which it is to be carted. By this method all the 
heads and leaves are saved, and these are more valuable than 
the stems. For new milch cows in winter scarcely any food 
is better. It will cause them to give as great a flow of milk 
as any hay, unless it be good rowen. 

Indian Corn makes an exceedingly valuable fodder, both 
as a means of carrying a herd of milch cows through our 
severe droughts of summer, and as an article for soiling cows 
kept in the stall. No dairy farmer will neglect to sow an 
extent in proportion to the number of cows which he keeps. 
The most common practice is, to sow in drills from two and a 
half to three feet apart, on land well tilled and thoroughly 
manured, making the drills from six to ten inches wide with 
the plough, manuring in the furrow, dropping the kernels 
about two inches apart, and covering with the hoe. In this 
mode of culture, the cultivator may be used between the 



CULTURE OF GRASSES FOR FODDER. 135 

rows when the corn is from six to twelve inches high, and, 
unless the ground is very weedy, no other after culture is 
needed. The first sowing usually takes place about the 
middle of May, and this is succeeded by other sowings, at 
intervals of a week or ten days, till July, in order to have a 
succession of green fodder ; but, if it is designed to cut it 
up to cure for winter use, an early sowing is generally pre- 
ferred, in order to be able to cure it in warm weather, in 
August or early in September. Sown in this way, about 
three or four bushels of corn are required for an acre ; since, 
if sown thickly, the fodder is better, the stalks smaller, and 
the waste less. 

The chief difficulty in curing corn cultivated for this 
purpose, and after the methods just spoken of, arises from 
the fact that it comes at a season when the weather is often 
colder, the days shorter, and the dews heavier, than when 
the curing of hay takes place. Nor is the curing of corn cut 
up green so easy and simple as that of the drying of stalks of 
Indian corn cut above the ear, as in the common practice 
of topping. The plant is then riper, less juicy, and cures 
more readily. 

The method sometimes adopted is to cut and tie into small 
bundles, after it is somewhat wilted, and then to stook upon 
the ground, where it is allowed to stand, subject to all the 
changes of weather, with only the protection of the stook 
itself. The stooks consist of bunches of stalks first bound 
into small bundles, and are made sufficiently large to prevent 
the wind from blowing them over. The arms are thrown 
around the tops to bring them as closely together as possible, 
when the tops are broken over or twisted together, or other- 



136 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

wise fastened, in order to make the stook " shed tne rain" as 
well as possible. In this condition they remain out until 
they are sufficiently dried to be put in the barn. Corn fodder 
is very excellent for young dairy stock. 

Common Millet is another very valuable crop for fodder 
in soiling, or to cure for winter use, but especially to feed 
out during the usual season of drought. Many varieties of 
millet are cultivated in this country, the ground being pre- 
pared and treated as for oats. If designed to cut for green 
fodder, half a bushel of seed to the acre should be used ; if 
to ripen seed, twelve quarts, sown broadcast, about the last 
of May or early in June. A moist loam or muck is the best 
soil adapted to millet ; but very great crops have been grown 
on dry upland. It is very palatable and nutritious for milch 
cows, both green and when properly cured. The curing 
should be very much like that of ^clover, care being taken 
not to over-dry it. For fodder, either green or cured, it is 
cut before ripening. In this state all cattle eat it as readily 
as green corn, and a less extent will feed them. Millet is 
worthy of a widely-extended cultivation, particularly on 
dairy farms. Indian millet is another cultivated variety. 

Rye, as a fodder plant, is chiefly valuable for its early 
growth in spring. It is usually sown in September or 
October — from the middle to the end of September being, 
perhaps, the most desirable time— on land previously culti- 
vated and in good condition. If designed to ripen only, a 
bushel of seed is required to the acre, evenly sown ; but, if 
intended for early fodder in spring, two or two and a half 
bushels of seed per acre should be used. On warm land the 
rye can be cut green the last of April or the first of May, 



CULTURE OP GRASSES FOR FODDER. 13 T 

Care should be taken to cut early ; since, if it is allowed to 
advance too far towards maturity, the stalk becomes hard 
and unpalatable to cows. 

Oats are also sometimes used for soiling, or for feeding 
green, to eke out a scanty supply of pasture feed ; and for 
this purpose they are valuable. They should be sown on 
well-tilled and well-manured land, about four bushels to the 
acre, towards the last of April or the first of May. If the 
whole crop is to be used as green fodder, five bushels of seed 
will not be too much for good, strong soil. They will be 
sufficiently grown to cut by the first of July, or in some 
sections earlier, depending upon the location. 

The Chinese Sugar-Cane also may deserve attention as a 
fodder plant. Experiments thus far made would seem to 
show that when properly cultivated, and cut at the right 
time, it is a palatable and nutritious plant, while many of the 
failures have been the result of too early cutting. For a 
fodder crop the drill culture is preferable, both on account 
of the larger yield obtained and because it is thus prevented 
from becoming too hard and stalky. 

Of the root crops the Potato is the first to be mentioned. 
This produces a large quantity of milk, though the quality is 
inferior. The market value of this root is, at times, too great 
to allow of feeding extensively with it, even in milk dairies, 
where it is most valuable as a food for cows ; still, there are 
locations where it may be judicious to cultivate this root for 
dairy feed, and in all circumstances there is a certain portion 
of the crop of unmarketable size, which will be of value fed 
to milch cows or swine. It should be planted in April or 
May, but in many sections in June, on good mellow soil, first 



138 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

thoroughly plowed and harrowed, then furrowed three feet 
apart, and manured in the furrows with a mixture of ashes, 
plaster of Paris, and salt. The seed may be dropped in the 
furrows, one foot apart, after the drill system — or in hills, 
two and a half or three feet apart — to be covered with the 
plough by simply turning the furrows back, after which the 
whole should be rolled with the field-roller, when it can be 
done. 

If the land is not already in good heart from continued 
cultivation, a few loads of barnyard manure may be spread, 
and plowed under by the first plowing. Used in this way 
it is far less liable to cause the rot, than when it is put 
in the hill. If a sufficient quantity of wood-ashes is not at 
hand, sifted coal-ashes will answer the purpose, and these are 
said to be valuable as a preventive of rot. In this way, one 
man, two boys, and a horse can plant from three to four acres 
a day on mellow land. 

By another method two acres a day on the sod have been 
planted. The manure is first spread upon the grass, and 
then a furrow made by a yoke of oxen and one man, another 
following after and dropping, a foot apart, along the outer 
edge of the furrow on the grass. By quick work, one hand 
can nearly keep up with the plow in dropping. When 
arrived at the end of the piece, a back furrow is turned up to 
the potatoes, and a good plowman will cover nearly all 
without difficulty. On the return furrow, the man or boy 
who dropped follows after, covering up any that may be left 
or displaced, and smoothing off the top of the back-furrows 
when necessary. Potatoes thus planted have come out 
finely. 



CULTURE OF GRASSES FOR FODDER. 



139 



The cost of cultivation in this mode, it must be evident, is 
but trifling, compared with the slower method of hand-plant- 
ing. It requires a skillful ploughman, a quick, active lad, 
and a good yoke of oxen, and the extent of the work will 
depend somewhat upon the state of the turf. The nutritive 
equivalent for potatoes in a hundred pounds of good hay is 
319 pounds ; that is, it will take 3.19 pounds of potatoes to 
afford the same amount of nourishment as one pound of hay. 
The great value of roots is as a change or condiment calcu- 
lated to keep the animal in a healthy condition. 

The Carrot is somewhat extensively fed, and is a valuable 
root for milch cows. This, like the potato, has been culti- 
vated and im- 
proved from a 
wild plant. 
Carrots require 
a deep, warm, 
mellow soil, 
thoroughly cul- 
tivated, but 
clean, and free 
from weed-seed. The difference between a very good profit 
and a loss on the crop depends much upon the use of land 
and manures perfectly free from foul seeds of any kind. 
Ashes, guano, seaweed, ground bones, and other similar 
substances, or thoroughly-rotted and fermented compost, will 
answer the purpose. 

After plowing deep, and harrowing carefully, the seed 
should be planted with a seed-sower, in drills about eighteen 
inches apart, at the rate of four pounds to the acre, about the 




A WEST HIGHLAND OX. 



140 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

middle of May. The difference between sowing on the 
fifteenth of May and on the tenth of June in New England is 
said to be nearly one-third in the crop on an average of years. 
In weeding, a little wheel-hoe is invaluable, as with it a 
large part of the labor of cultivation is saved. A skillful 
hand can run this hoe within a half an inch of the young plants 
without injury, and go over a large space in the course of a 
day, if the land was properly prepared in the first place. 

The American farmer should always plan to economize 
labor, which is the great item of expense upon a farm. By 
this is not meant that he should strive to shirk or avoid 
work, but that he should make the least amount of work 
accomplish the greatest and most profitable results. Labor- 
saving machinery on the farm is applied, not to reduce the 
number of hours of labor, or to make the owner a man of 
leisure — who is, generally, the unhappiest man in the world — 
but to enable him to accomplish the greatest results in the 
same time that he would be compelled to obtain smaller ones. 

Carrots will continue to grow and increase in size late 
into the fall. When ready to 'dig, plow around as. near to 
the outside rows as possible, turning away the furrow from 
the row. Then take out the carrots, pulling off the tops, and 
throw the carrots and tops into separate heaps on the 
plowed furrows. In this way a man and two boys can 
harvest and put into the cellar upwards of a hundred bushels 
a day. 

The Turnip, and the Swedish turnip, or ruta baga, are 
also largely cultivated as a field crop to feed to stock ; and 
for this purpose almost numberless varieties are used, furnish- 
ing a great amount of succulent and nutritious food, late into 



CULTURE OP GRASSES FOR FODDER. 141 

winter, and, if well-kept, late into spring. The chief objec- 
tion to the turnip is, that it taints the milk. This may be 
remedied — to a considerable extent, if not wholly — by the 
use of salt, or salt hay, and by feeding at the time of milking, 
or immediately after, or by steaming before feeding, or put- 
ting a small quantity of the solution of nitre into the pail, 
and milking upon it. 

Turnips may be sown any time in June, in rich land, well 
mellowed by cultivation. Very large crops are obtained, 
sown as late as the middle of July, or the first of August, on 
an inverted sod. The Michigan, or double-mould-board 
plow leaves the land light, and in admirable condition to 
harrow, and drill in turnips. In one instance, a successful 
root-grower cut two tons of hay to the acre, on the twenty- 
third of June, and after it was removed from the land spread 
eight cords of rotten kelp to the acre, and plowed in ; after 
which about three cords of fine old compost manure were 
used to the acre, which was sown with ruta baga seed, in 
drills, three feet apart, plants thinned to eight or ten inches 
in the drill. No after cultivation was required. On the 
fifteenth of November he harvested three hundred and 
seventy bushels of splendid roots to the acre, carefully 
measured off. 

The nutritive equivalent of Swedish turnips as compared 
with good meadow hay is 616, taking hay as a standard at 
100; that is, it would require 6.76 pounds of turnips to 
furnish the same nutriment as one pound of good hay ; but fed 
in connection with other food — as hay, for example — perhaps 
five pounds of turnips would be about equal to one pound of 
hay 



142 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

The English or round turnip is usually sown broadcast 
after some other crop, and large and valuable returns are 
often obtained. The Swede is sown in drills. Both of these 
varieties are used for the production of milk. 

The chief objection to the turnip crop is that it leaves 
many kinds of soil unfit for a succession of some other crops, 
like Indian corn, for instance. In some sections, no amount 
of manuring appears to make corn do well after turnips or 
ruta bagas. 

The Mangold Wurtzel, a variety of the*common beet, is 
often cultivated in this country with great success, and fed to 
cows with advantage, furnishing a succulent and nutritive 
food in winter and spring. The crop is somewhat uncertain. 
When it does well, an enormous yield is often obtained ; but, 
not rarely, it proves a failure, and is not, on the whole, quite 
as reliable as the ruta baga, though a more valuable crop 
when the yield is good. It is cultivated like the common 
beet in moist, rich soils, three pounds of seed to the acre. 
The leaves may be stripped off, towards fall, and fed out, 
without injury to the growth of the root. Both mangolds 
and turnips should be cut with a root-cutter, before being 
fed out. 

The Parsnip is a very sweet and nutritious article of 
fodder, and adds richness and flavor to the milk. It is 
worthy of extended culture in all parts of the country where 
dairy husbandry is pursued. It is a biennial, easily raised 
on deep, rich, well-cultivated and well-manured soils, often 
yielding enormous crops, and possessing the decided advan- 
tage of withstanding the severest winters. As an article of 
spring feeding, therefore, it is exceedingly valuable. Sown 



CULTURE OP GRASSES FOR FODDER. 143 

in April or May, it attains a large growth before winter. 
Then, if desirable, a part of the crop may be harvested for 
winter use, and the remainder left in the ground till the frost 
is out, in March or April, when they can be dug as wanted, 
and are exceedingly relished by milch cows and stock of all 
kinds. They make an admirable feed at the time of milking, 
and produce the richest cream, and the yellowest and finest- 
flavored butter, of any roots used among us. The best 
dairy farmers on the Island of Jersey often feed to their cows 
from thirty to thirty-five pounds of parsnips a day, in addition 
to hay or grass. 

Both practical experiment and scientific analysis prove this 
root to be eminently adapted to dairy stock, where the rich- 
ness of milk or fine-flavored butter is any object. For mere 
milk-dairies, it is not quite so valuable, probably, as the 
Swedish turnip. The culture is similar to that of carrots, a 
rich, mellow, and deep loam being best ; while it has a great 
advantage over the carrot in being more hardy, and rather 
less liable to injury from insects, and more nutritive. For 
feeding and fattening stock it is eminently adapted. 

To be sure of a crop, fresh seed must be had, as it cannot 
be depended on for more than one year. For this reason the 
largest and straightest roots should be allowed to stand for 
seed, which, as soon as nearly ripe, should be taken out and 
spread out to dry, and carefully kept for use. For field 
culture, the hollow-crowned parsnip is the best and most 
profitable ; but on thin, shallow soils the turnip-rooted variety 
should be used. Parsnips may be harvested like carrots, 
by plowing along the rows. Let butter or cheese dairy- 



144 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

men give this crop a fair and full trial, and watch its effect in 
the quality of the milk and butter. 

The Kohl Rabi is also cultivated to a considerable extent 
in this country for the purpose of .feeding stock. It is sup- 
posed to be a hybrid between the cabbage and the turnip, 
and is often called the cabbage-turnip, having the root of the 
former, with a turnip-like or bulbous stem. The special 
reason for its more extensive cultivation among us is its' 
wonderful indifference to droughts, in which it seems to 
flourish best, and to bring forth the most luxuriant crops. 
It also withstands the frosts remarkably, being a hardy plant. 
It yields a somewhat richer quality of milk than the ordinary 
turnip, and the crop is generally admitted to be as abundant 
and profitable. Very large crops of it have been produced 
by the ordinary turnip or cabbage cultivation. As in cab- 
bage-culture, it is best to sow the seed in March or April, in 
a warm and well-enriched seed-bed ; from which it is trans- 
planted in May, and set out after the manner of cabbages in 
garden culture. It bears transplanting better than most 
other roots. Insects injure it less than the turnip, dry 
weather favors it, and it keeps well through winter. For 
these reasons, it must be regarded as a valuable addition to 
our list of forage plants adapted to dairy farming. It grows 
well on stronger soils than the turnip requires. 

Linseed Meal is the ground cake of flaxseed after the oil 
is pressed out. It is very rich in fat-forming principles, and 
given to milch cows increases the quality of butter, and 
keeps them in condition. Four or five pounds a day are 
sufficient for cows in milk, and this amount will effect a 
great saving in the cost of other food, and at the same time 



CULTURE OP GRASSES FOR FODDER. 145 

make a very rich milk. It is extensively manufactured in 
this country, and largely exported, but it is worthy of more 
general use here. It must not be fed in too large quantities 
to milch cows, for it would be liable to give too great a 
tendency to fat, and thus affect the quantity of the milk. 

Cotton-seed Meal is an article of comparatively recent 
introduction. It is obtained by pressing the seed of the 
cotton-plant, which extracts the oil, when the cake is crushed 
or ground into meal, which has been found to be a very 
valuable article for feeding stock. From analysis it is shown 
to be equal or superior to linseed meal. Practical experi- 
ments only are needed to establish it. It can be procured in 
market at a reasonable price. 

The Manures used in this country for the culture of the 

above named plants are mostly such as are made on the farm, 

consisting chiefly of barnyard composts of various kinds, with 

often a large admixture of peat-mud. There are few farms 

that do not contain substances, which, if properly husbanded, 

would add very greatly to the amount of manure ordinarily 

made. The best of the concentrated manures, which it is 

sometimes necessary to use, for want of time and labor to 

prepare enough upon the farm, is, unquestionably, Peruvian 

guano. The results of this, when properly applied, are well 

known and reliable, which can hardly be said of any other 

artificial manure offered for the farmer's notice. The chief 

objection to depending upon manures made off the farm is, in 

the first place, their great expense ; and in the second — which 

is equally important — the fact, that, though they may be 

made valuable, and produce at one time the best results, a 

want of care in the manufacture, or designed fraud, may 
10 



146 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

make them almost worthless, with the impossibility of detect- 
ing the imposition, without a chemical analysis, till it be- 
comes too late, and the crop is lost. 

It is, therefore, safest to rely mainly upon the home manu- 
facture of manure. The extra expense of soiling cattle, 
saving and applying the liquid manure, and thus bringing 
the land to a higher state of cultivation, when it will be 
capable of keeping more stock and furnishing more manure, 
would offer a surer road to success than a constant outlay for 
concentrated fertilizers. 



THE BAK3ST. 

The farm barn, next to the farm house, is the most im- 
portant structure of the farm itself, in the Northern and 
Middle States ; and even at the South and Southwest, where 
barns are less used, they are of more importance in the 
economy of farm management than is generally understood. 
Indeed, to the eyes of a person of taste, a farm or plantation 
appears incomplete, without good barn accommodations, as 
much as without good household appointments — and without 
them, no agricultural establishment can be complete in all its 
proper economy. 

The most thorough barn structures, perhaps, to be seen in 
the United States, are those of the State of Pennsylvania, 
built by the German farmers of the lower and central coun- 
ties. They are large, and expensive in their construction ; 
and, in a strictly economical point of view, are, perhaps, more 
costly than is required. Yet, there is a substantial durability 
about them, that is exceedingly satisfactory, and, where the 



THE BARN. 147 

pecuniary ability of the farmer will admit, they may well 
furnish models for imitation. 

In the structure of the barn, and in its interior accommo- 
dation, much will depend upon the branches of agriculture to 
which the farm is devoted. A farm cultivated in grain 
chiefly requires but little room for stabling purposes. Storage 
for grain in the sheaf, and granaries, will require its room ; 
while a stock farm requires a barn with extensive hay storage, 
and stables for its cattle, horses, and sheep, in all climates 
which do not admit of such stocks living through the winter 
in the field, as is the case in the great grazing districts west 
of the Alleghanies. Again, there are wide districts of country 
where a mixed husbandry of grain and stock is pursued, 
which require barns and outbuildings accommodating both. 

It may be well here to remark that many designers of 
barns, sheds, and other out-buildings for the accommodation 
of farm stock, have indulged in fanciful arrangements for the 
comfort and convenience of animals, which are so compli- 
cated that when constructed, as they sometimes are, the 
practical, common-sense farmer will not use them ; and by 
reason of the learning which is required for their use, they 
are altogether unsuitable for the treatment and use which 
they generally receive from those who have the daily care 
of the stock for which they are intended, and for the rough 
usage which they experience from the animals themselves. 
A very pretty and plausible arrangement of stabling, feeding, 
and all the other requirements of a barn establishment may 
be thus got up by an ingenious theorist at the fireside, which 
will work charmingly as he dilates upon its good qualities, 
untried ; but, which, when subjected to experiment, will be 



148 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

utterly worthless for practical use. There can be no doubt 
that the simplest plan of construction, consistent with an 
economical expenditure of the material of food for the con- 
sumption of stock, is by far the most preferable. 

Another item to be considered in this connection, is the 
comparative value of the stock, the forage fed to them, and 
the labor expended in feeding and taking care of them. To 
illustrate : Suppose a farm to lie in the vicinity of a large 
town or city. Its value is, perhaps, a hundred dollars an 
acre. The hay cut upon it is worth fifteen dollars a ton, at 
the barn, and straw and coarse grains in proportion, and 
hired labor ten or twelve dollars a month. Consequently, 
the manager of this farm should use all the economy in his 
power, by the aid of cutting-boxes and other machinery, to 
make the least amount of forage supply the wants of his 
stock ; and the internal economy of his barn should be 
arranged accordingly, since labor is his cheapest item, and 
food his dearest. Therefore, any contrivance by which to 
work up his forage the closest — -by way of machinery, or 
manual labor — so that it shall serve the purposes of keeping 
his stock, is true economy; and the making and saving of 
manures are items of the first importance. His buildings 
and their arrangements throughout should, for these reasons, 
be constructed in accordance with his practice. 

If, on the other hand, lands are cheap and productive, and 
labor comparatively dear, a different practice will prevail. 
The farmer will feed his hay from the mow without cutting. 
The straw will be stacked out, and the cattle turned to it, to 
pick what they like of it, and make their beds of the re- 
mainder ; or, if it is housed, he will throw it into racks, and 



THE BARN. 149 

the stock may eat what they choose. To do this requires 
but one-third, or one-half of the labor which is required by 
the other mode, and the saving in this makes up, and perhaps 
more than makes up, for the increased quantity of forage 
consumed. 

Again, climate may equally affect the mode of winter- 
feeding the stock. The winters may be mild. The hay may 
be stacked in the fields when gathered, or put into small 
barns built for hay storage alone ; and the manure, scattered 
over the fields by the cattle, as 1?hey are fed from either of 
them, may be knocked to pieces with the dung-beetle, in the 
spring, or harrowed and bushed over the ground ; and with 
the very small quantity of labor required in all this, such 
practice will be more economical than any other which can 
be adopted. 

In latitudes, however, in which it becomes necessary to 
stall-feed during several months of the year, barns are indis- 
pensable. These should be warm, and at the same time well 
ventilated. The barn should be arranged in a manner suita- 
ble to keeping hay and other fodder dry and sweet, and with 
reference to the comfort and health of the animals, and the 
economy of labor and manure. The size and finish will, of 
course, depend on the wants and means of the farmer or 
dairyman ; but many little conveniences, it should not be 
forgotten, can be added at comparatively trifling cost. 

The accompanying cut of a barn is given merely as an 
illustration of a convenient arrangement for a medium-sized 
dairy, and not as being adapted to all circumstances or situa- 
tions. This barn is supposed to stand upon a side-hill or an 
inclined surface, where it is easy to have a cellar, if desired ; 



150 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



and the cattle-room, as shown in the cut, is in the second 
story, or directly over the cellar, the bottom of which should 



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outer sides, and carefully paved, or laid in cement. 



THE BARN. 151 

On the outside is represented an open shed, m, for carts 
and wagons to remain under cover, thirty feet by^ fifteen, 
while llllll are bins for vegetables, to be filled through 
scuttles from the floor of the story above, and surrounded by 
olid walls. The area of this whole floor equals one hundred 
feet by fifty-seven, k, is an open space, nearly on a level 
with the cow-chamber, through the door p. s, stairs to the 
third story and to the cellar, ddd, passage next to the 
walls, five feet wide, and nine inches above the dung-pit 
eee, dung-pit, two feet wide, and seven inches below the 
floor where the cattle stand. The manure drops from this 
pit into the cellar below, five feet from the walls, and quite 
around the cellar, c c c, plank floor for cows, four feet six 
inches long, bbb, stalls for three yoke of oxen, on a platform 
five feet six inches long, n n, calf-pens, which may also be 
used for cows in calving, rr, feeding-troughs for calves. 
The feeding-boxes are made in the form of trays, with parti- 
tions between them. Water comes in by a pipe, to cistern a. 
This cistern is regulated by a cock and ball, and the water 
flows by dotted lines, ooo, to the boxes ; each box being 
connected by lead pipes well secured from frost, so that, if 
desired, each animal can be watered without leaving the 
stall, or water can be kept constantly before it. A scuttle, 
through which sweepings and refuse may be put into the 
cellar, is seen at /. g is a bin receiving cut hay from the 
third story, or hay-room, hhhhhh, bins for grain-feed. 
I is a tunnel to conduct manure or muck from the hay-floor 
to the cellar, jj, sliding-doors on wheels. The cows all 
face toward the open area in the centre. 

This cow-room may be furnished with a thermometer, 



152 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

clock, etc., and should always be well ventilated by sliding 
windows, which at the same time admit the light. 

The next cut is a transverse section of the same cow-room* 
a being a walk behind the cows, five feet wide ; b, dung -pit ; 
c, cattle-stand ; d, feeding-trough, with a bottom on a level 



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— {b\ 



TRANSVERSE SECTION. 



with the platform where the cattle stand yk, open area, forty- 
three feet, by fifty-six. 

The story above the cow-room— as represented in the next 
cut— is one hundred feet by forty-two ; the bays for hay, ten 
on each side, being ten feet front and fifteen feet deep ; and 
the open space, p, for the entrance of wagons, carts, etc., 
twelve feet wide. 6, hay-scales, c, scale beam, mmmmmm, 
ladders reaching almost to the roof. 1 1 1, etc., scuttle-holes 
for sending vegetables directly to the bins, III, etc., below. 
a abb, rooms on the corners for storage, d, scuttles; four; 
of which are used for straw, one for cut hay, and one for 
muck for the cellar, n and the other small squares are 
eighteen-feet posts. /, passage to the tool-house, a room 
one hundred feet long by eighteen wide, o, stairs leading to 
the scaffold in the roof of the tool-house, i i, benches, g, 
floor, h, boxes for hoes, shovels, spades, picks, iron bars, 
old iron, etc. jjj, bins for fruit. Jc, scuttles to put apples 
into wagons, etc., in the shed below. One side of this tool- 
house may be used for plows and large implements, hay- 
rigging, harness, etc. 

Proper ventilation of the cellar and the cow-room avoids 



THE BARN. 



153 



the objection that the hay is liable to injury from noxious 

ases. 



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The excellent manure-cellar beneath this barn extends only 



154 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

under the cow-room. It has a drive-way through doors on 
each side. No barn-cellar should be kept shut up tight, 
even in cold weather. The gases are constantly escaping 
from the manure, unless held by absorbents, which are liable 
not only to affect the health of the stock, but also to injure' 
the quality of the hay. To prevent this, while securing the 
important advantages of a manure-cellar, the barn may b# 
furnished with good-sized ventilators on the top, for every, 
twenty-five feet of its length, and with wooden tubes leading 
from the cellar to the top. 

There should also be windows on different sides of the 
cellar to admit the free circulation of air. With these pre^ 
cautions, together with the use of absorbents in the shape of , 
loam and muck, there will be no danger of rotting the 
timbers of the barn, or of risking the health of the cattle or; 
the quality of the hay. 

The temperature at which the cow-room should be kept is 
somewhere from fifty to sixty degrees, Fahrenheit. The 
practice and the opinions of successful dairymen differ some- 
what on this point. Too great heat would affect the health 
and appetite of the herd ; while too low a temperature is 
equally objectionable, for various reasons. 

The most economical plan for room in tying cattle in their 
stalls, is to fasten the rope or chain, whichever is used— -the 
wooden stanchion, or stanchel, as it is called, to open and 
shut, enclosing the animal by the neck, being objectionable— 
into a ring, which is secured by a strong staple into a post. 
.This prevents the cattle from interfering with each other, 
while a partition effectually prevents any -contact from the * 
animals on each side of it, in the separate stalls. 






MILKING. 155 

There is no greater benefit for cattle, after coming into 
winter-quarters, than a systematic regularity in every thing 
>ertaining to them. Every animal should have its own 
articular stall in the stable, where it should always be kept, 
'he cattle should be fed and watered at certain fixed hours 
f the day, as near as may be. If let out of the stables for 
water, unless the weather is very pleasant— when they may 
>e permitted to lie out for a short time— they should be 
mmediately put back, and not allowed to range about with 
he outside cattle. They are more quiet and contented in 
heir stables than elsewhere, and waste less food than if 
ermitted to run out ; besides being in every way more 
omfortable, if properly bedded and attended to, as every 
ne will find upon trial. The habit which many farmers 
ave, of turning their cattle out of the stables in the morning, 

all weathers— letting them range about in a cold yard, 
looking and annoying each other— is of no possible benefit, 
nless it be to rid them of the trouble of cleaning the stables, 
hich pays more than twice its cost in the saving of manure, 
he outside cattle, which occupy the yard— if there are any 
■are all the better that the stabled ones do not interfere 
ith them. They become habituated to their own quarters, 
s do the others, and all are better for being, respectively, in 
leir proper places. 

MILKING. 

The manner of milking exerts a more powerful and lasting 
fluence on the productiveness of the cow than most farmers * 
re aware. That a slow and careless milker soon dries up 
ie best of cows, every practical farmer and dairyman knows ; 



156 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

but a careful examination of the beautiful structure of the 
udder will serve further to explain the proper mode of milk- 
ing, in order to obtain and keep up the largest yield. 

The udder of a cow consists of four glands, disconnected 
from each other, but all contained within one bag or cellular 
membrane ; and these glands are uniform in structure. Each 
gland consists of three parts: the glandular, or secreting 
part, tubular or conducting part, and the teats, or receptacle, 
or receiving part. The glandular forms by far the largest 
portion of the udder. It appears, to the naked eye composed 
of a mass of yellowish grains; but under the microscope 
these grains are found to consist entirely of minute blood- 
vessels forming a compact plexus, or fold. These vessels 
secrete the milk from the blood. The milk is abstracted from 
the blood in the glandular part; the tubes receive and deposit 
it in the reservoir, or receptacle ; and the sphincter at the end 
of the teat retains it there until it is wanted for use. 

This must not be understood, however, as asserting that 
all the milk drawn from the udder at one milking is contained 
in the receptacle. The milk, as it is secreted, is conveyed to 
the receptacle, and when that is full, the larger tubes begin 
to be filled, and next the smaller ones, until the whole 
become gorged. When this takes place, the secretion of the 
milk ceases, and absorption of the thinner or more watery 
part commences. Now, as this absorption takes place more 
readily in the smaller or more distant tubes, it is invariably 
found that the milk from these, which comes last into the 
reoeptacle, is much thicker and richer than what was" first 
drawn off. This milk has been significantly styled afterings, 
or strippings; and should this gorged state of the tubes be 



MILKING. 157 

permitted to continue beyond a certain time, serious mischief 
will sometimes occur ; the milk becomes too thick to flow 
through the tubes, and soon produces, first irritation, then 
inflammation, and lastly suppuration, and the function of the 
gland is materially impaired or altogether destroyed. Hence, 
the great importance of emptying these smaller tubes regu- 
larly and thoroughly, not merely to prevent the occurrence 
of disease, but actually to increase the quantity of milk ; for, 
so long as the smaller tubes are kept free, milk is constantly 
forming; but whenever, as has already been mentioned, they 
become gorged, the secretion of milk ceases until they are 
emptied. The cow herself has no power over the sphincter 
the end of her teat, so as to open it, and relieve the over- 
charged udder ; neither has she any power of retaining the 
milk collected in the reservoirs when the spasm of the 
sphincter is overcome. 

Thus is seen the necessity of drawing away the last drop 
of milk at every milking ; and the better milker the cow, the 
more necessary this is. What has been said demonstrates, 
also, the impropriety of holding the milk in cows until the 
udder is distended much beyond its ordinary size, for the 
sake of showing its capacity for holding milk— a device to 
which many dealers in cows resort. 

Thus much of the internal structure of the udcler. Its 
external form requires attention, because it indicates different 
properties. Its form should be spheroidal, large, giving an 
idea of capaciousness ; the bag should have a soft, fine skin, 
md the hind part upward toward the tail be loose and elastic. 
There should be fine, long hairs scattered plentifully over the 
urface, to keep it warm. The teats should not seem to be 



158 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

contracted, or funnel-shaped, at tbe inset with the bag. In 
the former state, teats are very apt to become corded, or 
spindled ; and in the latter, too much milk will constantly 
be pressing on the lower tubes, or receptacle. They should 
drop naturally from the lower parts of the bag, being neither 
too short, small, or dumpy, or long, flabby, and thick, but, 
perhaps, about three inches in length, and so thick as just to 
fill the hand. They should hang as if all the quarters of the 
udder were equal in size, the front quarters projecting a little 
forward, and the hind ones a little more dependent. Each 
quarter should contain about equal quantities of milk ; 
though, in the belief of some, the hind quarters contain rather 
the most. 

Largely developed milk-veins — as the subcutaneous veins 
along the under part of the abdomen are commonly called — 
are regarded as a source of milk. This is a popular error, 
for the milk-vein has no connection with the udder; yet, 
although the office of these is to convey the blood from the 
fore part of the chest and sides to the inguinal vein, yet a. 
large milk-vein certainly indicates a strongly developed vas- 
cular system — one favorable to secretions generally, and to 
that of the milk among the rest. 

Milking is performed in two ways, stripping and handling. 
Stripping consists in seizing the teat firmly near the root 
between the face of the thumb and the side of the fore-finger, 
the length of the teat passing through the other fingers, and 
in milking the hand passes down the entire length of the 
teat, causing the milk to flow out of its point in a forcible 
stream. The action is renewed by again quickly elevating 
the hand to the root of the teat. Both hands are employed 



MILKING. 159 

at the operation, each having hold of a different teat, and 
being moved alternately. The two nearest teats are com- 
monly first milked, and then the two farthest. Handling is 
done by grasping the teat at its root with the fore-finger like 
a hoop, assisted by the thumb, which lies horizontally over 
the fore-finger, the rest being also seized by the other fingers. 
Milk is drawn by pressing upon the entire length of the teat 
in alternate jerks with the entire palm of the hand. Both 
hands being thus employed, are made to press alternately, 
but so quickly following each other that the alternate streams 
of milk sound to the ear like one forcible, continued stream. 
This continued stream is also produced by stripping. Strip- 
ping, then, is performed by pressing and passing certain 
fingers along the teat ; handling, by the whole hand doubled, 
or fist, pressing the teat steadily at one place. Hence the 
origin of both 
names. 

Of these two 
modes, hand- 
ling is the pre- 
ferable, since 
it is the more 
natural method 
— imitating, as 
it does, the 

Suckling of the the preferable method. 

calf. When a calf takes a teat into its mouth, it makes the 
tongue and palate by which it seizes it, play upon the teat 
t)y alternate pressures or pulsations, while retaining the teat 
in the same position. It is thus obvious that handling is 




160 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

somewhat like sucking, whereas stripping is not at all like 
it. It is said that stripping is good for agitating the udder, 
the agitation of which is conducive to the withdrawal of a 
large quantity of milk ; but there is nothing to prevent the 
agitation of the udder as much as the dairymaid pleases, 
while holding in the other mode. Indeed, a more constant 
vibration could be kept up in that way by the vibrations of 
the arms than by stripping. Stripping, by using an uncon- 
strained pressure on two sides of the teat, is much more 
apt to press it unequally, than by grasping the whole teat 
in the palm of the hand ; while the friction occasioned by 
passing the finger and thumb firmly over the outside of the 
teat, is more likely to cause heat and irritation in it than a 
steady and full grasp of the entire hand. To show that this 
friction causes an unpleasant feeling even to the dairymaid, 
she is obliged to lubricate the teat frequently with milk, and 
to wet it at first with water ; whereas the other mode requires 
no such expedients. And as a further proof that stripping is 
a mode of milking which may give pain to the cow, it cannot 
be employed, when the teats are chapped, with so much ease 
to the cow as handling. 

The first requisite in the person that milks is, of course, 
the utmost cleanliness. Without this, the milk is unendura- 
ble. The udder should, therefore, be carefully cleaned befon 
the milking commences. 

Milking should be done fast, to draw away the milk as quicklj 
as possible, and it should be continued as long as there is 
drop of milk to bring away. This is an issue which canno* 
be attended to in too particular a manner. If any milk ij 
left, it is re- absorbed into the system, or else becomes caked 



MILKING. 161 

and diminishes the tendency to secrete a full quantity after- 
ward. Milking as dry as possible is especially necessary 
with young cows with their first calf ; as the mode of milking 
and the length of time to which they can be made to hold 
out, will have very much to do with their milking qualities 
as long as they live. Old milk left in the receptacle of the 
teat soon changes into a curdy state, and the caseous matter 
not being at once removed by the next milking, is apt to 
irritate the lining membrane of the teat during the operation, 
especially when the teat is forcibly rubbed down between the 
finger and thumb in stripping. The consequence of this 
repeated irritation is the thickening of the lining membrane, 
which at length becomes so hardened as to close up the 
orifice at the end of the teat. The hardened membrane may 
be easily felt from the outside of the teat, when the teat is 
said to be corded. After this the teat becomes deaf, as it is 
called, and no more milk can afterward be drawn from the 
quarter of the udder to which the corded teat is attached. 

The milking-pail is of various forms and of various 
materials. The Dutch use brass ones, which are brilliantly 
scoured every time they are in use. Tin pitchers are used in 
some places, while pails of wood in cooper-work are em- 
ployed in others. A pail of oak, having thin staves bound 
together by bright iron hoops, with a handle formed by a 
stave projecting upward, is convenient for the purpose, and 
may be kept clean and sweet. One nine inches in diameter 
at the bottom, eleven inches at the top, and ten inches deep, 
with an upright handle or leg of five inches, has a capacious 
enough mouth to receive the milk as it descends ; and a 
sufficient height, when standing on the edge of its bottom on 
11 



162 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

the ground, to allow the dairy-maid to grasp it firmly with 
her knees while sitting on a small three-legged stool. Of 
course, such a pail cannot be milked full ; but it should be 
large enough to contain all the milk which a single cow can 
give at a milking ; because it is undesirable to rise from a 
cow before the milking is finished, or to exchange one dish 
for another while the milking is in progress. 

The cow being a sensitive and capricious creature, is, 
oftentimes so easily offended that if the maid rise from her 
before the milk is all withdrawn, the chances are that she will 
not again stand quietly at that milking ; or, if the vessel used 
in milking is taken away and another substituted in its 
place, before the milking is finished, the probability is that 
she will hold her milk — that is, not allow it to flow. This is 
a curious property which cows possess, of holding up or 
keeping back their milk. How it is effected has never been 
satisfactorily ascertained ; but there is no doubt of the fact 
that when a cow becomes irritated, or frightened from any 
cause, she can withhold her milk. Of course, all cows are 
not affected in the same degree ; but, as a proof how sensi- 
tive cows generally are, it may be mentioned that very few 
will be milked so freely by a stranger the first time, as by one 
to whom they have been accustomed. 

There is one side of a cow which is usually called the 
milking side — that is the cow's left side — because, somehow, 
custom has established the practice of milking her from that 
side. It may have been adopted for two reasons : one, 
because we are accustomed to approach all the larger domes- 
ticated animals by what we call the near side — that is, the 
animal's left side — as being the most convenient one for 



MILKING. 163 

ourselves ; and the other reason may have been, that, as 
most people are right-handed, and the common use of the 
right hand has made it the stronger, it is most conveniently 
employed in milking the hinder teats of the cow, which are 
often most difficult to reach on account of the position of the 
hind legs and the length of the hinder teats, or of the breadth 
of the hinder part of the udder. The near side is most 
commonly used in this country and in Scotland ; but in many 
parts of England the other side is preferred. Whichever side 
is selected, that should uniformly be used, as cows are very 
sensitive to changes. 

In Scotland it is a rare thing to see a cow milked by any 
other person than a woman, though men are very commonly 
employed at it in this country and in England. One never 
sees a man milking a cow without being impressed with the 
idea that he is usurping an office which does not become him ; 
and the same thought seems to be conveyed in the terms 
usually applied to the person connected with cows — a dairy- 
rnaid implying one who milks cows, as well as performs the 
other duties connected with the dairy — a dairy-wan meaning 
one who owns a dairy. There can be but little question that 
the charge of this branch of the dairy should generally be 
entrusted to women. They are more gentle and winning 
than men. The same person should milk the same cow 
regularly, and not change from one to another, unless there 
are special reasons for it. 

Cows are easily rendered troublesome on being milked ; 
and the kicks and knocks which they usually receive for their 
restlessness, only render them more fretful. If they cannot 
be overcome by kindness, thumps will never make them 



164 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

better. The truth is, restless habits are continued in them 
by the treatment which they receive at first, when, most 
probably, they have been dragooned into submission. 
Their teats are tender at first; but an unfeeling, horny 
hand tugs at them at stripping, as if the animal had been 
accustomed to the operation for years. Can the creature be 
otherwise than uneasy ? And how can she escape the win- 
cing but by flinging out her heels ? — Then hopples are placed 
on the hind fetlocks, to keep her heels down. The tail 
must then be held by some one, while the milking is going 
on ; or the hair of its tuft be converted into a double cord, to 
tie the tail to the animal's leg. Add to this the many threats 
and scoldings uttered by the milker, and one gets a not very 
exaggerated impression of the "breaking-in." 

Some cows, no doubt, are very unaccomodating and pro- 
voking ; but, nevertheless, nothing but a rational course 
toward them, administered with gentleness, will ever render 
them less so There are cows which are troublesome to milk 
for a few times after calving, that become quite quiet for the 
remainder of the season ; others will kick pertinaciously at 
the first milking. In this last case the safest plan — instead 
of hoppling, which only irritates — is for the dairy-maid to 
thrust her head against the flank of the cow, and while stand- 
ing on her feet, stretch her hands forward, get hold of the teats 
the best way she can, and send the milk on the ground ; and 
in this position it is out of the power of the cow to hurt her. 
These ebullitions of feeling at the first milking after calving, 
arise either from feeling pain in a tender state of the teat, 
most probably from inflammation in the lining membrane of 
the receptacle ; or they may arise from titillation of the skin 



MILKING. 1G5 

of the udder and teat, which becomes the more sensible to the 
affection from a heat which is wearing off. 

At the age of two or three years the milking glands have 
not become fully developed, and their largest development 
will depend very greatly upon the management after the first 
calf. Cows should have, therefore, the most milk-producing 
food ; be treated with constant gentleness ; never struck, or 
spoken harshly to, but coaxed and caressed ; and in ninety- 
nine Gases out of a hundred, they will grow up gentle and 
quiet. The hundredth had better be fatted and sent to the 
butcher. Harshness is worse than useless. Be the cause of 
irritation what it may, one thing is certain, that gentle 
discipline will overcome the most turbulent temper. Nothing 
does so much to dry a cow up, especially a young cow, as the 
senseless treatment to which she is too often subjected. 

The longer the young cow, with her first and second calf, 
is made to hold out, the more surely will this habit be fixed 
upon her. Stop milking her four months before the next 
calf, and it will be difficult to make her hold out to within 
four or six weeks of the time of calving afterward. Induce 
her, if possible, by moist and succulent food, and by careful 
milking, to hold out even up - to the time of calving, if you 
desire to milk her so long, and this habit will be likely to be 
fixed upon her for life. But do not expect to obtain the full 
yield of a cow the first year after calving. Some of the very 
best cows are slow to develop their best qualities ; and no 
cow reaches her prime till the age of five or six years. 

The extreme importance of care and attention to these 
points cannot be overestimated. The wild cows grazing on 
the plains of South America, are said to give not more than 



166 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

three or four quarts a day at the height of the flow ; and 
many an owner of large herds in Texas, it is said, has 
too little milk for family use, and sometimes receives his 
supply of butter from the New York market. There is, 
therefore, a constant tendency in milch cows to dry up ; and 
it must be guarded against with special care, till the habit of 
yielding a large quantity, and yielding it long, becomes fixed 
in the young animal, when, with proper care, it may easily be 
kept up. 

Cows, independently of their power to retain their milk in 
the udder, afford different degrees of pleasure in milking them, 
even in the quietest mood. Some yield their milk in a 
copious flow, with the gentlest handling that can be given 
them; others require great exertion to draw the milk 
from them even in streams no larger than a thread. The 
udder of the former will be found to have a soft skin and 
short teats ; that of the latter will have a thick skin, with 
long rough teats. The one feels like velvet ; the other is no 
more pleasant to the touch than untanned leather. To induce 
quiet and persuade the animal to give down her milk freely, 
it is better that she should be fed at milking-time with cut 
feed, or roots, placed within her easy reach. 

If gentle and mild treatment is observed and persevered in, 
the operation of milking, as a general thing, appears to be a 
pleasure to the animal, as it undoubtedly is ; but, if an 
opposite course is pursued — if at every restless movement, 
caused, perhaps, by pressing a sore teat, the animal is 
harshly spoken to — she will be likely to learn to kick as a 
habit, and it will be difficult to overcome it ever afterward. 

Whatever may be the practice on other occasions, there can 



THE RAISING OF CALVES. 161 

be no doubt that, for some weeks after calving, and in the 
height of the flow, cows ought, if possible, to be milked regu- 
larly three times a day — at early morning, noon, and night. 
Every practical dairyman knows that cows thus milked give 
a larger quantity of milk than if "milked only twice, though it 
may not be quite so rich ; and in young cows, no doubt, it 
has a tendency to promote the development of the udder and 
milk- veins. A frequent milking stimulates an increased 
secretion, therefore, and ought never to be neglected in the 
milk-dairy, either in the case of young cows, or very large 
milkers, at the height of the flow, which will commonly be 
for two or three months after calving. 

There being a great difference in the quality as well as in 
the quantity of the milk of different cows, no dairyman 
should neglect to test the milk of each new addition to his 
dairy stock, whether it be an animal of his own raising or 
one brought from abroad. A lactometer — or instrument for 
testing the comparative richness of different species of milk 
—is very convenient for this purpose ; but any one can set 
the milk of each cow separately at first, and give it a thorough 
trial, when the difference will be found to be great. Economy 
will dictate that the cows least to the purpose should be dis- 
posed of, and their places supplied with better ones. 



THE RAISING OP * CALVES. 
It has been found in practice that calves properly bred and 
raised on the farm have a far greater intrinsic value for that 
farm, other things being equal, fhan any that can be pro- 
cured elsewhere ; while on the manner in which they are 
raised will depend much of their future usefulness and profit. 



168 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

These considerations should have their proper weight in 
deciding whether a promising calf from a good cow and bull 
shall be kept, or sold to the butcher. But, rather than raise 
a calf at hap-hazard, and simply because its dam was cele- 
brated as a milker, the judicious farmer will prefer to judge 
of the peculiar characteristics of the animal itself. This will, 
often save the great and useless outlay which has sometimes 
been incurred in raising calves for dairy purposes, which a 
more careful examination would have rejected as unpromising. 
The method of judging stock which has been recommended 
in the previous pages is of practical utility here, and it is 
safer to rely upon it to some extent, particularly when other 
appearances concur, than to go on blindly. The milk-mirror 
on the calf is, indeed, small, but no smaller in proportion to 
its size than that of the cow,; while its shape and form can 
generally be distinctly seen, particularly at the end of ten^ 

or twelve weeks. 
The development 
of the udder, and 
other peculiari- 
ties, will give 
jjjp some indication 
JeS of the future ca- 
y~ pacities of the 
animal, and these 
should be care- 
fully studied. If 
we except the 
manure of young stock, the calf is the first product of the 
cow, and as such demands our attention, whether it is to be 




MATERNAL AFFECTION. 



THE BAISING OF CALVES. 169 

raised or hurried off to the shambles. The practice adopted 
in raising calves differs widely in different sections of th* 
country, being governed very much by local circumstances, 
as the vicinity of a milk-market, the value of milk for the 
dairy, the object of breeding, whether mainly for beef, for 
work, or for the dairy, etc. ; but, in general, it may be said, 
that, within the range of thirty or forty miles of good veal- 
markets, which large towns furnish, comparatively few are 
raised at all. Most of them are fattened and sold at ages 
varying from three to eight or ten weeks ; and in milk-dairies 
still nearer large towns and cities they are often hurried off 
at one or two days, or, at most, a week old. In both of 
these cases, as long as the calf is kept it is generally allowed 
to suck the cow, and, as the treatment is very simple, there 
is nothing which particularly calls for remark, unless it be to 
condemn the practice entirely, upon the ground that there is 
a more profitable way of fattening calves for the butcher, and 
to say that allowing the calf to suck the cow at all is objec- 
tionable on the score of economy, except in cases where it is 
rendered necessary by the hard and swollen condition of the 
udder. 

If the calf is so soon to be taken away, it is better that the 
cow should not be suffered to become attached to it at all ; 
since she is inclined to withhold her milk when it is removed, 
and thus a loss is sustained. The farmer will be governed 
by the question of profit, whatever course it is decided to 
adopt. In raising blood-stock, however, or in raising beef 
cattle, without any regard to economy of milk, the system of 
suckling the calves, or letting them run with the cow, may 



1 ^° CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

and will be adopted, since it is usually attended with some* 
what less labor. 

The other course, which is regarded as the best where the 
calf is to be raised for the dairy, is to bring it up by hand. 
This is almost universally done in all countries where the 
raising of dairy cows is best understood—in Switzerland, 
Holland, some parts of Germany, and England. It requires 
rather more care, on the whole ; bift it is decidedly preferable, 
since the calves cost less, as the food can be easily modified,' 
and the growth is not checked, as is usually the case when 
the calf is taken off from the cow. Allusion is here made, of 
course, to sections where the milk of the cow is of some 
account for the dairy, and where it is too valuable to be 
devoted entirely to nourishing the calf. In this case, as soon 
as the calf is dropped the cow is allowed to lick off the 
slimy moisture till it is dry, which she will generally do from 
instinct, or, if not, a slight sprinkling of salt over the body 
of the calf will immediately tempt her. The calf is left to 
suck once or twice, which it will do as soon as it is able to 
stand. It should, in all cases, be permitted to have the first 
milk which comes from the cow, which is of a turbid, yellow- 
ish color, unfit for any of the purposes of the dairy, but 
somewhat purgative and medicinal, and admirably and wisely 
designed by Nature to free the bowels and intestines of the 
new-born animal from the mucous, excrementitious matter 
always existing in it after birth. Too much of this new milk 
may, however, be hurtful even to the new-born calf, while it 
should never be given at all to older calves. The best course 
would seem to be— and such is in accordance with the expe- 
rience of the most successful stock-raisers— to milk the cow 



THE RAISING OF CALVES. HI 

dry immediately after the calf has sucked once, especially if 
the udder is painfully distended, which is often the case, and 
to leave the calf with the cow during one day, and after that 
to feed it by putting the fingers into its mouth, and gently 
bringing its muzzle down to the milk in a pail or trough, 
when it will imbibe in sucking the fingers. No great diffi- 
culty will be experienced in teaching the calf to drink when 
taken so young, though some take to it much more readily 
than others. What the calf does not need should be given 
to the cow. Some, however, prefer to milk immediately 
after calving ; and, if the udder is overloaded, this may be 
the best course, though the better practice appears to be, to 
leave the cow as quietly to herself as possible for a few 
hoars. The less she is disturbed, as a general thing, the 
better. The after-birth should be taken from her immediately 
after it is dropped. It is customary to give the cow, as soon 
as convenient after calving, some warm and stimulating 
drink — alittle meal stirred into warm water, with a part of 
the first milk which comes from her, seasoned with a little 
salt. 

In many cases the calf is taken from the cow immediately; 
and before she has seen it, to a warm, dry pen out of her 
sight, and there rubbed till it is thoroughly dry ; and then, 
when able to stand, fed with the new milk from the cow, 
which it should have three or four times a day, regularly, for 
the first fortnight, whatever course it is proposed to adopt 
afterwards. It is of the greatest importance to give the 
young calf a thrifty start. The milk, unless coming directly 
from the cow, should be warmed. 

Some object to removing the calf from the cow in this way, 



!^ 2 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

on the ground of its apparent cruelty. But the objection to 
letting the calf suck the cow. for several days, as they do, or 
indeed of leaving it with the cow for any length of time, is, 
' that she invariably becomes attached to it, and frets and 
withholds her milk when it is at last taken from her. She 
probably suffers much more, after this attachment is once 
formed, at the removal of the object of it, than she does at 
its being taken at first out of her sight. The cow's memory 
is far more retentive than many suppose ; and the loss and 
injury sustained by removing the calf after it has been 
allowed to suck her for a longer or shorter period are never 
known exactly, because it is not usually known how much 
milk the calf takes ; but it is, without doubt, very considera- 
ble. If the udder is all right, there seems to be no good 
reason for leaving the calf with the cow for two or three 
days, if it is then to be taken away. 

The practice in Holland is to remove the calf from its 
mother even before it has been licked, and to take it into a 
corner of the barn, or into another building, out of the cow's 
sight and hearing, put it on soft, dry straw, and rub it dry 
with some hay or straw, when its tongue and gums are 
slightly rubbed with salt, and the mucus and saliva removed 
from the nostrils and lips. After this has been done, the 
calf is made to drink the milk first taken as it comes from 
the mother. It is slightly diluted with water, if taken last 
from the udder ; but, if the first of the milking, it is given 
just as it is. The calf is taught to drink in the same manner 
as in this country, by putting the fingers in its mouth, and 
bringing it down to the milk, and it soon gets so as to drink 
unaided It is fed, at first, from four to six times a day, or 



THE RAISING OE CALVES. IT 3 

even oftener; but soon only three times, at regular intervals. 
Its food for two or three weeks is clear milk, as it comes 
warm and fresh from the cow. This is never omitted, as the 
milk during most of that time possesses certain qualities 
which are necessary to the calf, and which cannot be effectu- 
ally supplied by any other food. In the third or fourth week 
the milk is skimmed, but warmed to the degree of fresh milk ; 
though, as the calf grows a little older, the milk is given cold, 
while less care is taken to give it the milk of its own mother, 
that of other cows now answering equally well. In some 
places, calves are fed on buttermilk at the age of two weeks 
and after ; but the change from new milk, fresh from the cow, 
is made gradually, some sweet skimmed milk and warm 
water being first added to it. 

At three weeks old, or thereabouts, the calf will begin to 
eat a little sweet, fine hay, and potatoes cut fine, and it very 
soon becomes accustomed to this food. Many now begin to 
give linseed-meal mixed into hot water, to which is added 
some skim-milk or buttermilk ; and others use a little bran 
cooked in hay-tea, made by chopping the hay fine and pouring 
on boiling-hot water, which is allowed to stand awhile on it. 
An egg is frequently broken into such a mixture. Others 
still take pains at this age to have fresh linseed-cake, broken 
into pieces of the size of a pigeon's egg ; putting one of these 
into the mouth after the meal of milk has been finished, and 
when it is eager to suck at any thing in its way. It will 
very soon learn to eat linseed-meal. A little sweet clover is 
put in its way at the age of about three weeks, and it will 
soon begin to eat that also. 

In this manner the feeding is continued from the fourth to 



1T4 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

the seventh week, the quantity of solid food being gradually 
increased. In the sixth or seventh week the milk is by 
degrees withheld, and water or buttermilk used instead ; and 
soon after this, green food may be safely given, increasing it 
gradually with the hay to the age of ten or twelve weeks, 
when it will do to put them upon grass alone, if the season 
is favorable. A lot as near tte house as possible, where 
they can be easily looked after and frequently visited, is the 
best. Calves should be gradually accustomed to all changes ; 
and even after having been turned out to pasture, they ought 
to be put under shelter if the weather is not dry and warm. 
The want of care and attention relative to these little details 
will be apparent sooner or later; while, if the farmer gives 
his personal attention to these matters, he will be fully paid 
in the rapid growth of his calves. It is especially necessary 
to see that the troughs from which they are fed, if troughs 
are used, are kept clean and sweet. 

But there are some — even among intelligent farmers — who 
make a practice of turning their calves out to pasture at the 
tender age of two or three weeks — and that, too, when they 
have sucked the cow up to that time — and allow them 
nothing in the shape of milk and tender care. This, certainly, 
is the poorest possible economy, to say nothing of the mani- 
fest cruelty of such treatment. The growth of the calf is 
checked, and the system receives a shock from so sudden a 
change, from which it cannot soon recover. The careful 
Dutch breeders bring the calves either skimmed milk or 
buttermilk to drink several times a day after they are turned 
to grass, which is not till the age of ten or twelve weeks ; 
and, if the weather is chilly, the milk is warmed for them. 



THE RAISING OF CALVES. IT 5 

They put a trough generally under a covering, to which the 
calves may come and drink at regular times. Thus, they 
are kept tame and docile. 

In the raising of calves, through all stages of their growth, 
great care should be taken neither to starve nor to over-feed. 
A calf should never be surfeited, and never be fed so highly , 
that it cannot be fed more highly as it advances. The most 
important part is to keep it growing thriftily without getting 
too fat, if it is to be raised for the dairy. 

The calves in the dairy districts of Scotland are fed on the 
milk, with seldom any admixture ; and they are not permitted 
to suck their dams, but are taught to drink milk by the 
hand from a dish. They are generally fed on milk only for 
the first four, five, or six weeks, and are then allowed from 
two to two and a half quarts of Dew milk each meal, twice 
in the twenty-four hours. Some never give them any other 
food when young except milk, lessening the quantity when 
the calf begins to eat grass or other food, which it generally 
does when about five weeks old, if grass can be had ; and 
withdrawing it entirely about the seventh or eighth week of 
the calf's age. But, if the calf is reared in winter, or early 
in spring, before the grass rises, it must be supplied with at 
least some milk until it is eight or nine weeks old, as a calf 
will not so soon learn to eat hay or straw, nor fare so well on 
them alone as it will on pasture. Some feed their calves 
reared for stock partly with meal mixed in the milk after 
the third or fourth week. Others introduce gradually some 
new whey into the milk, first mixed with meal ; and, when 
the calf gets older, they withdraw the milk, and feed it on 
whey and porridge. Hay-tea, juices of peas and beans, or 



1*76 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

pea or bean -straw, linseed beaten into powder, treacle, etc. 
have all been sometimes used to advantage in feeding calves ; 
but milk, when it can be spared, is, in the judgment of the 
Scotch breeders, by far their most natural food. 

In Galloway, and other pastoral districts, where the calves 
are allowed to suck, the people are so much wedded to their 
own customs as to argue that 'suckling is much more nutri- 
tious to the calves than any other mode of feeding. That it 
induces a greater secretion of saliva, which, by promoting 
digestion, accelerates the growth and fattening of the young 
animal, cannot be doubted ; but the secretion of that fluid 
may likewise be promoted by placing an artificial teat in the 
mouth of the calf, and giving it the milk slowly, and at the 
natural temperature. In the dairy districts of Scotland, the 
dairymaid puts one of her fingers into the mouth of the calf 
when it is fed, which serves the purpose of a teat, and will 
have nearly the same effect as the natural teat in inducing the 
secretion of saliva. If that, or an artificial teat of leather, be 
used, and the milk be given slowly before it is cold, the secre- 
tion of saliva may be promoted to all the extent that can be 
necessary; besides, secretion is not confined to the mere 
period of eating, but, as in the human body, the saliva is 
formed and part of it swallowed at all times. As part of the 
saliva is sometimes seen dropping from the mouths of the 
calves, it might be advisable not only to give them an arti- 
ficial teat when fed, but to place, as is frequently done, a lump 
of chalk before them to lick, thus leading them to swallow 
the saliva. The chalk would so far supply the want of salt, 
of which cattle are often so improperly deprived, and it would 
also promote the formation of saliva. Indeed, calves are 



THE RAISING OF CALVES. 



m 




FROLICKSOME. 



very much disposed to lick and suck every thing which comes 
within their reach, which seems to be the way in which Nature 
teaches them to supply their stomachs with saliva. 

But though sucking their dams may be most advantageous 
in that respect, yet it has also some disadvantages. The cow 

is always morej 
injured than the 
calf is benefited 
by that mode of 
feeding. She be- 
comes so fond of 

•JeM^ the calf that she 
does not, for a 

long time after, 
yield her milk freely to the dairyman. The calf does not 
when young draw off the milk completely, and when it is 
taken off by the hand, the cow withholds a part of her milk, 
and, whenever a cow's udder is not completely emptied every 
time she is milked, the lactic secretion — as before stated — is 
thereby diminished. 

Feeding of calves by hand is also, in various respects, ad- 
vantageous. Instead of depending on the uncertain, or per- 
haps precarious supply of the dam> which may be more at 
first than the young animal can consume or digest, and at 
other times too little for its supply, its food can, by hand- 
feeding, be regulated to suit the age, appetite, and the pur- 
poses for which the calf is intended ; other admixtures or 
substitutes can be introduced into the milk, and the quantity 
gradually increased or withdrawn at pleasure. This is highly 
necessary when the calves are reared for stock. The milk is 
12 



178 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

in that case diminished, and other food introduced so gradually 

» 
that the stomach of the young animal is not injured as it is 

when the food is too suddenly changed. And, in the case of 
feeding calves for the butcher, the quantity of milk is not 
limited to that of the dam — for no cow will allow a stranger- 
calf to suck her — but it can be increased, or the richest or 
poorest parts of the milk given at pleasure. 

Such are, substantially, the views upon this subject which 
are entertained by the most judicious farmers in the first dairy 
districts of Scotland. 

In those districts — where t probably, the feeding and 
management of calves are as well and as judiciously con- 
ducted as in any other part of Great Britain — the farmers 7 
wives and daughters, or the female domestics, have tl*e prin- 
cipal charge of young calves ; and they are, doubtless, much 
better calculated for this duty than men, since they are more 
inclined to be gentle and patient. The utmost gentleness — 
as has been already remarked, in another connection — should 
always be observed in the treatment of all stock ; but 
especially of milch cows, and calves designed for the dairy. 
Persevering kindness and patience, will, almost invariably, 
overcome the most obstinate natures ; while rough and un- 
gentle handling will be repaid in a quiet kind of way, per- 
haps, by withholding the milk, which will always have a 
tendency to dry up the cow ; or, what is nearly as bad, by 
kicking and other modes of revenge, which often contribute 
to the personal discomfort of the milker. The disposition of 
the cow is greatly modified, if not, indeed, wholly formed, by 
her treatment while young ; and therefore it is best to handle 
calves as much as possible, and make pets of them, lead them 



THE RAISING OF CALVES. 119 

with a halter, and caress them in various ways. Calves 
managed in this way will always be docile, and suffer them- 
selves to be approached and handled, both in the pasture and 
in the barn. 

With respect to the use of hay-tea — often used in this 
country, but more common abroad, where greater care and 
attention are usually bestowed upon the details of breeding 
— Youatt says : "At the end of three or four days, or per- 
haps a week, or near a fortnight, after a calf has been dropped, 
and the first passages have been cleansed by allowing it to 
drink as much of the cow's milk as it feels inclined for, let 
the quantity usually allotted for a meal be mixed, consisting, 
for the first week, of three parts of milk and one part of 
hay-tea. The only nourishing infusion of hay is that which 
is made from the best and sweetest hay, cut by a chaff-cutter 
into pieces about two inches long, and put into an earthen 
vessel ; over this, boiling water should be poured, and the 
whole allowed to stand for two hours, during which time it 
ought to be kept carefully closed. After the first week, the 
proportions of milk and hay-tea may be equal ; then com- 
posed of two-thirds of hay-tea and one of milk; and at 
length, one-fourth part of milk will be sufficient. This food 
should be given to the calf in a lukewarm state at least three, 
if not four times a day, in quantities averaging three quarts 
at a meal, but gradually increasing to four quarts as the calf 
grows older. Toward the end of the second month, beside 
the usual quantity given at each meal — composed of three 
parts of the infusion and one of milk — a small wisp or bundle 
of hay is to be laid before the calf, which will gradually come 
to eat it ; but, if the weather is favorable, as in the month of 



180 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

May, the beast may be turned out to graze in a fine, sweet 
pasture, well sheltered from the wind and sun. This diet 
may be continued until toward the latter end of the third 
month, when, if the calf grazes heartily, each meal may be 
reduced to less than a quart of milk, with hay- water ; or 
skimmed milk, or fresh buttermilk, may be substituted for new 
milk. At the expiration of the third month, the animal will • 
hardly require to be fed by hand ; though, if this should still 
be necessary, one quart of the infusion given daily — which, 
during the summer, need not be warmed — will suffice." The 
hay-tea should be made fresh every two days, as it soon loses 
its nutritious quality. 

This and other preparations are given, not because they 
are better than milk, — than which nothing is better adapted to 
fatten a calf, or promote its growth, — but simply to economize 
by providing the simplest and cheapest substitutes. Ex- 
perience shows that the first two or three calves are smaller 
than those which follow; and hence, unless they are 
pure-bred, and to be kept for the blood, they are not 
generally thought to be so desirable to raise for the dairy as 
the third or fourth, and those that come after, up to the age 
of nine or ten years. Opinions upon this point, however, 
differ. 

According to the comparative experiments of a German 
agriculturist, cows which as calves had been allowed to suck 
their dams from two to four weeks, brought calves which 
weighed only from thirty-five to forty-eight pounds ; while 
others, which as calves had been allowed to suck from five to 
eight weeks, brought calves which weighed from sixty to 
eighty pounds. It is difficult to see how there can be so 



THE RAISING OP CALVES. 181 

great a difference, if, indeed, there be any ; but it may be 
worthy of careful observation and experiment, and as such 
it is stated here. The increased size of the calf would be due 
to the increased size to which the cow would attain ; and if 
as a calf she were allowed to run in the pasture with her 
dam for four or five months, taking all the milk she wanted, 
she would doubtless be kept growing on in a thriving con- 
dition. But taking a calf from the cow at four or even eight 
weeks must check its growth to some extent ; and this may 
be avoided by feeding liberally, and bringing up by hand. 

After the calf is fully weaned, there is nothing very pecu- 
liar in the general management. A young animal will 
require for the first few months — say up to the age of six 
months — an average of five or six pounds daily of good hay, 
or its equivalent. At the age of six months, it will require 
from four and a half to five pounds ; and at the end of the 
year, from three and a half or four pounds of good hay, or 
its equivalent, for every one hundred pounds of its live 
weight ; or, in other words, about three and a half or four 
per cent, of its live weight. At two years old, it will re- 
quire three and a half, and some months later, three per cent, 
of its live weight daily in good hay, or its equivalent. In- 
dian-corn fodder, either green or cured, forms an excellent and 
wholesome food at this age. 

The heifer should not be pampered, nor yet poorly fed or 
half starved, so as to receive a check in her growth. An 
abundant supply of good healthy dairy food and milk will do 
all that is necessary up to the time of her having her first 
calf — which should not ordinarily be till the age of three 
years, though some choose to allow them to come in at two, 



182 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

or a little over, on the ground that it early stimulates the 
secretion of milk, and that this will increase the milking 
propensity through life. This is undoubtedly the case, as a 
general rule ; but greater injury is at the same time done by 
checking the growth, unless the heifer has been fed up to large 
size and full development from the start — in which case she 
may perhaps take the bull at fifteen or eighteen months with- 
out injury. Even if a heifer comes in at two years, it is 
generally deemed desirable to let her run barren for the follow- 
ing year, which will promote her growth and more perfect 
development. 

The feeding which young stock often get is not such as is 
calculated to make good-sized or valuable cattle of them. 
They are often fed on the poorest of hay or straw through 
the winter, not infrequently left exposed to cold, unprotected 
and unhoused, and thus stinted in their growth. This is, 
surely, the very worst economy, or rather it is no economy 
at all. Properly viewed, it is an extravagant wastefulness 
which no farmer can afford. No animal develops its good 
points under such treatment ; and if the starving system is to 
be followed at all, it had better be after the age of two or 
three years, when the animal's constitution has attained the 
strength and vigor which may, possibly, enable it to resist ill 
treatment. 

To raise up first-rate milkers, it is absolutely necessary to 
feed on dairy food even when they are young. No matter 
how fine the breed is, if the calf is raised on poor, short feed, 
it will never be so good a milker as if raised on better keep- 
ing ; and hence, in dairy districts, where calves are raised at 
all, they ought to be allowed the best pasture during the 



POINTS OF FAT CATTLE. 183 

summer, and good, sweet and wholesome food during the 
winter. 

POINTS OF FAT CATTLE. 

Whatever theoretical objections may be raised against 
over-fed cattle, and great as may be the attempts to dispar- 
age the mountains of fat,— as highly-fed cattle are sometimes 
designated,— there is no doubt of the practical fact, that the 
best butcher cannot sell any thing but the best fatted beef; 
and of whatever age, size, or shape a half-fatted ox may be, 
he is never selected by judges as fit for human food. Hence, 
a well-fatted animal always commands a better price per 
pound than one imperfectly fed, and the parts selected as the 
primest beef are precisely the parts which contain the largest 
deposits of fat. The rump, the crop, and the sirloin, the 
very favorite cuts,— which always command from twenty to 
twenty-five per cent, more than any other part of the ox, — 
are just those parts on which the largest quantities of fat are 
found ; so that, instead of the taste and fashion of the age 
being against the excessive fattening of animals, the fact is, 
practically, exactly the reverse. Where there is the most 
fat, there is the best lean ; where there is the greatest amount 
of muscle, without its share of fat, that part is accounted 
inferior, and is used for a different purpose ; in fact, so far 
from fat's being a disease, it is a condition of muscle, neces- 
sary to its utility as food,— a source of luxury to the rich, 
and of comfort to the poor, furnishing a nourishing and 
healthy diet for their families. 

Fattening is a secretive power which grazing animals 
possess, enabling them to lay by a store of the superfluous 



184 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES 

food which they take for seasons of cold or. scarcity. It 
collects round the angular bones of the animal, and gives the 
appearance of rotundity ; hence the tendency to deposit fat 
is indicated, as has been stated, by a roundness of form, as 
opposed to the fatness of a milk-secreting animal. But its 
greatest use is, that it is a store of heat-producing aliment, 
laid up for seasons of scarcity and want. The food of 
animals, for the most part, may be said to consist of a sac- 
charine, an oleaginous, and an albuminous principle. To the 
first belong all the starchy, saccharine, and gummy parts of 
the plants, which undergo changes in the digestive organs 
similar to fermentation before they can be assimilated in the 
system ; by them also animal heat is sustained. In indolent 
animals, the oily parts of plants are deposited and laid up as 
fat ; and, when vigor and strength fail, this is taken up and 
also used in breathing to supply the place of the consumed 
saccharine matter. The albuminous, or gelatinous principle 
of plants is mainly useful in forming muscle ; while the 
ashes of plants, the unconsumable parts, are for the supply, 
mainly, of bone, hair, and horn, but also of muscle and of 
blood, and to supply the waste which continually goes on. 

Now, there are several qualities which are essentially 
characteristic of a disposition to fatten. There have not, as 
yet, been any book-rules laid down, as in the case of M. 
Gu^non's indications of milking-cows ; but there are, never- 
theless, marks so definite and well understood, that they are 
comprehended and acted upon by every grazier, although 
they are by no means easy to describe. It is by skillful 
acumen that the grazier acquires his knowledge, and not by 
theoretical rules; observation, judgment, and experience, 



POINTS OF FAT CATTLE. 



185 



powerful perceptive faculties, and a keen and minute com- 
parison and discrimination, are essential to his success. 

The first indication upon which he relies, is the touch. It 
is the absolute criterion of quality, which is supposed to be 




POINTS OF CATTLE. 



the keystone of perfection in all animals, whether for the pail 
or the butcher. The skin is so intimately connected with 
the internal organs, in all animals, that it is questionable 
whether even our schools of medicine might not make more 
use of it in a diagnosis of disease. Of physiological tenden- 
cies in cattle, however, it is of the last and most vital im- 
portance. It must neither be thick, nor hard, nor adhere 
firmly to the muscles. If it is so, the animal is a hard 
grazer, a difficult and obstinate feeder — no skillful man will 
purchase it— such a creature must go to a novice, and even 
to him at a price so low as to tempt him to become a 
purchaser. On the other hand, the skin must not be thin, 
like paper, nor flaccid, nor loose in the hand, nor flabby. 



186 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

This is the opposite extreme, and is indicative of delicateness, 
bad, flabby flesh, and, possibly, of inaptitude to retain the 
fat. It must be elastic and velvety, soft and pliable, present- 
ing to the touch a gentle resistance, but so delicate as to 
give pleasure to the sensitive hand— a skin, in short, which 
seems at first to give an indentation from the pressure of the 
fingers, but which again rises to its place by a gentle elas- 
ticity. 

The hair is of nearly as much importance as the skin. A 
hard skin will have straight and stiff hair ; it will not have a; 
curl, but be thinly and lankly distributed equally over the 
surface. A proper grazing animal will have a mousy coat, 
not absolutely curled, but having a disposition to a graceful 
curl, a semifold, which presents a waving inequality ; but as 
different from a close and straightly-laid coat, as it is from 
one standing off the animal at right angles, a strong symptom, 
of disease. It will also, in a thriving animal, be licked here 
and there with its tongue, a proof that the skin is duly per- 
forming its functions. 

There must be, also, the full and goggle eye, bright and 
pressed outward by the fatty bed below; because, as this is a 
part where Nature always provides fat, an animal capable of 
developing it to any considerable extent, will have its indica- 
tions here, at least, when it exists in excess. 

So much for feeding qualities in the animal, and their con- 
formations indicative of this kindly disposition. Next come 
such formations of the animal itself as are favorable to the 
growth of fat, other things being equal. There must be size 
where large weights are expected. Christmas beef, for 
instance, is expected to be large as well as fat. The symbol 



POINTS Or TAT CATTLE. 187 

)f festivity should be capacious, as well as prime in quality. 
But it is so much a matter of choice and circumstance with 
;he grazier, that profit alone will be his guide. The axiom 
will be, however, as a general rule, that the better the grazing 
soil the larger the animal may be ; the poorer the soil, the 
smaller the animal. Small animals are, unquestionably, 
much more easily fed, and they are well known by experi- 
enced men to be best adapted to second-rate feeding pastures. 

But, beyond this, there must be breadth of carcass. This 
is indicative of fattening, perhaps, beyond all other qualifi- 
cations. If rumps are favorite joints and produce the best 
price, it is best to have the animal which will grow the 
longest, the broadest, and the best rump ; the same of crop, 
and the same of sirloin ; and not only so, but breadth is 
essential to the consumption of that quantity of food, which 
is necessary to the development of a large amount of fat in 
the animal. Thus, a deep, wide chest, favorable for the 
respiratory and circulating functions, enables it to consume 
a large amount of food, to take up the sugary matter, and to 
deposit the fatty matter, — as then useless for respiration, but 
afterwards to be prized. A full level crop will be of the 
same physiological utility; while a broad and open frame- 
work at the hips will afford scope for the action of the liver 
and kidneys. 

There are other points, also, of much importance ; the 
head must be small and fine ; its special use is indicative of 
the quick fattening of the animal so constructed, and it is 
also indicative of the bones being small and the legs short. 
For constitutional powers, the beast should have his ribs 
extended well towards the thigh-bones or hips, so as to leave 



188 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

as little unprotected space as possible. There must be no 
angular or abrupt points j all must be round, and broad, and 
parallel. Any depression in the lean animal will give a 
deficient deposit of flesh and fat at that point, when sold to 
the butcher, and thus deteriorate its value ; and hence the 
animal must be round and full. 

But either fancy, or accident, or skill — it is unnecessary to 
decide which — has associated symmetry with quality and 
conformation, as a point of great importance in animals 
calculated for fattening ; and there is no doubt that, to a 
certain extent, this is so. The beast must be a system of 
mathematical lines. To the advocate of symmetry, the set- 
ting-on of a tail will be a condemning fault ; indeed the ridge 
of the back, like a straight line, with the outline of the belly 
exactly parallel, viewed from the side, and a depth and 
squareness when viewed from behind, — which remind us of a 
geometrical cube, rather than a vital economy,— may be said 
to be the indications of excellence in a kt ox. The points 
of excellence in such an animal are outlined under the sub- 
sequent head, as developed in the cutting up after slaughter. 

Now, these qualities are inherent in some breeds ; there 
may be cases and instances in all the superior breeds, and in 
most there may be failures. 



DRIVING AND SLAUGHTERING. 

It is necessary that cattle which have been disposed of to 
the dealer or butcher, or which are intended to be driven to 
market, should undergo a preparation for the journey! If 
they were immediately put to the road to travel, from feed- 
ing on grass or turnips, when their bowels are full of undi- 



DRIVING AND SLAUGHTERING. 189 

gested vegetable matter, a scouring might ensue which 
would render them unfit to pursue their journey; and this 
complaint is the more likely to be fought on from the strong 
propensity which cattle have to take violent exercise upon 
feeling themselves at liberty after a long confinement. They, 
in fact, become light-headed whenever they leave the barn or 
enclosure, so much so that they actually "frisk and race and 
leap," and their antics would be highly amusing, were it not 
for the apprehension that they may hurt themselves against 
some opposing object, as they seem to regard nothing before 
them. 

On being let out for the first time, cattle should be put for 
awhile into a larger court, or on a road well fenced with 
enclosures, and guarded by men, to romp about. Two or 
three such allowances of liberty will render them quiet ; and, 
in the mean time, to lighten their weight of carcass, they 
should have hay for a large proportion of their food. These 
precautions are absolutely necessary for cattle which have 
been confined in barns ; otherwise, accidents may befall them 
on the road, where they will at once break loose. Even at 
home serious accidents sometimes overtake them, such as the 
breaking down of a horn, casting off a hoof, spraining a ten- 
don, bruising ribs, and heating the whole body violently ; 
and, of course, when any such ill luck befalls, the animal 
affected must be left behind, and become a drawback upon 
the value of the rest, unless kept for some time longer. 

Having the cattle prepared for travel, the drover takes the 
road very slowly for the first two days, not exceeding seven 
or eight miles a day. At night, in winter, they should be 
put into an open court, and supplied with hay, water, and a 



190 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 




A FRONTISPIECE. 



very few turnips ; for, if roots are suddenly withdrawn from 
them, — since it is taken for granted that these have formed a 

staple portion of their food, — 
their bellies will become 
shrunken up into smaller dimen- 
sions — a state very much 
against a favorable appearance 
in market. After the first two 
days they may proceed faster, 
say twelve or thirteen miles a 
day, if very fat ; and fifteen, if 
moderately so. When the 
journey is long and the beasts 
get faint from travel, they should have corn to support them. 
In frosty weather, when the roads become very hard, they are 
apt to become shoulder-shaken, an effect of founder ; and if 
sleet falls during the day, and becomes frozen upon them at 
night, they may become so chilled as to refuse food, and 
shrink rapidly away. Cattle should, if possible, arrive the 
day before in the neighborhood of a distant market, and be 
supplied with a good feed of roots and hay, or grass, to make 
them look fresh and fill them up again ; but if the market is 
at but short distance, they can travel to it early in the 
morning. 

In driving cattle the drover should have no dog, which will 
only annoy them. He should walk either before or behind, 
as he sees them disposed to proceed too fast or to loiter upon 
the road ; and in passing carriages, the leading ox, after a 
little experience, will make way for the rest to follow. On 
putting oxen on a ferry-boat the shipping of the first one 



DRIVING AND SLAUGHTERING. 191 

)nly is attended with much trouble. A man on each side 
should take hold of a horn, or of a halter made of any piece 
)f rope, should the beast be hornless, and two other men, one 
>n each side, should push him up behind with a piece of rope 
leld between them as a breeching, and conduct him along the 
)lank into the boat ; if it have low gunwales, a man will be 
equired to remain beside him until one or two more of the 
cattle follow their companion, which they will most readily 
io. From neglecting this precaution in small ferry-boats, 
:he first beast sometimes leaps into the water, when it be- 
comes a difficult task to prevent some of the rest doiDg the 
same thing. 

Whatever time a lot of cattle may take to go to a market, 
they should never be overdriven. There is great difference 
of management in this respect among drovers. Some like 
to proceed upon the road quietly, slowly, but surely, and 
to reach the market in a placid, cool state. Others, again, 
drive smartly along for some distance, and then rest to cool 
awhile, when the beasts will probably get chilled and have a 
staring coat when they reach their destination ; while others 
like to enter the market with their beasts in an excited state, 
imagining that they then look gay ; but distended nostrils, 
loose bowels, and reeking bodies are no recommendations to 
a purchaser. Good judges are shy of purchasing cattle in a 
heated state, because they do not know how long they may 
have been in it ; and to cover any risk, will give at least five 
dollars a head below what they would have offered for them 
in a cool state. Some drovers have a habit of thumping at 
the hindmost beast of the lot with a stick while on the road. 
This is a censurable practice, as the flesh, where it is 



192 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

thumped, will bear a red mark after the animal has been 
slaughtered, — the mark receiving the appropriate name of 
blood-bum,— and the flesh thus affected will not take on salt 
and is apt to putrefy. A touch up on the shank, or any 
tendonous part, when correction is necessary, is all that ii 
required ; but the voice, in most cases, will answer as well. 
The flesh of overdriven cattle, when slaughtered, never be- 
comes properly firm, and their tallow has a soft, melted ap- 
pearance. 

*■ 

A few large oxen in one lot look best in a market on a 
position rather above the eye of a spectator. When a large 
lot is nearly alike in size and appearance, they look best and 
most level on a flat piece of ground. Very large fat oxen 
never look better than on ground on the same level with the 
spectator. An ox, to look well, should hold his head on a 
line with the body, with lively ears, clear eye, dewy nose, a 
well-licked hide, and should stand firmly on the ground on 
all his feet. These are all symptoms of high health and good 
condition. Whenever an ox shifts his standing from one 
foot to another, he is foot-sore, and has been driven far. 
Whenever his head hangs down and his eyes water, he feels 
ill at ease inwardly. When his coat stares, he has been 
overheated some time, and has got a subsequent chill All 
these latter symptoms will be much aggravated in cattle that 
have been fed in a barn. 

Cattle are made to fast before being slaughtered. The 
time they should stand depends upon their state on their 
arrival at the shambles. If they have been driven a con- 
siderable distance in a proper manner, the bowels will be in 
a tolerably empty state, so that twelve hours may suffice ; 



DRIVING AND SLAUGHTERING. 193 

but if they are full and just off their food, twenty-four hours 
will be required. Beasts that have been overdriven, or 
much struck with sticks, or in any degree infuriated, should 
not be immediately slaughtered, but allowed to stand on dry 
food, such as hay, until the symptoms disappear. These 
precautions are absolutely necessary that the meat may be 
preserved in the best state. 

The mode of slaughtering cattle varies in different coun- 
tries. In the great slaughter-houses at Montmartre, in Paris, 
they are slaughtered by bisecting the spinal cord of the cer- 
ical vertebras ; and this is accomplished by the driving of a 
sharp-pointed chisel between the second and third vertebras, 
with a smart stroke of a mallet, while the animal is standing, 
when it drops, and death or insensibility instantly ensues, 
and the blood is let out immediately by opening the blood- 
vessels of the neck. The plan adopted in England is, first to 
bring the ox down on his knees, and place his under-jaw 
upon the ground by means of ropes fastened to his head and 
passed through an iron ring in the floor of the slaughter- 
house. He is then stunned with a few blows from an iron 
axe made for the purpose, on the forehead, the bone of which 
is usually driven into the brain. The animal then falls upon 
bis side, and the blood is let out by the neck. Of the two 
modes, the French is apparently the less cruel, for some oxen 
require many blows to make them fall. Some butchers, 
bowever, allege that the separation of the spinal cord, by 
producing a general nervous convulsion throughout the body, 
prevents the blood from flowing as rapidly and entirely out 
of it as when the ox is stunned in the forehead. The skin is 
then taken off to the knees, when the legs are disjointed, and 

13 



194 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

also off the head. The carcass is then hung up by the 
tendons of the hough on a stretcher, by a block and tackle, 
worked by a small winch, which retains in place what rope 
it winds up by means of a wheel and ratchet. 

After the carcass has hung for twenty-four hours, it should 
be cut down by the back-bone, or chine, into two sides. 
This is done either with the saw, or chopper ; the saw making 
the neatest job in the hands of an inexperienced butcher, 
though it is the most laborious ; and with the chopper is the 
quickest, but by no means the neatest plan, especially in the 
hands of a careless workman. In London, the chine is 
equally divided between both sides ; while in Scotland, one 
side of a carcass of beef has a great deal more bone than 
the other, all the spinous processes of the vertebrae being 
left upon it. The bony is called the lying side of the 
meat. In London, the divided processes in the fore-quarters 
are broken in the middle when warm, and chopped back with 
the flat side of the chopper, which has the effect of thickening 
the fore and middle ribs considerably when cut up. The 
London butcher also cuts the joints above the hind knee, 
and, by making some incisions with a sharp knife, cuts the 
tendons there, and drops the flesh of the hind-quarter on the 
flank and loins, which causes it to cut up thicker than in the 
Scotch mode. In opening the hind-quarter he also cuts the 
aitch bone, or pelvis through the centre, which makes the 
rump look better. Some butchers in the north of England 
score the fat of the closing of the hind-quarter, which has the 
effect of making that part of both heifer and ox look like the 
udder of an old cow. There is far too much of this scoring 
practised in Scotland, which prevents the pieces from retain- 



DRIVING AND SLAUGHTERING. 



105 



ing — which they should, as nearly as possible — their natural 
appearance. 

In cutting up a carcass of beef the London butcher displays 
great expertness ; he not only discriminates between the 
qualities of its different parts, but can cut out any piece to 
gratify the taste of his customers. In this way he makes 
the best use of the carcass and realizes the largest value for 
it, while he gratifies the taste of every grade of customers. 
A figure of the Scotch and English modes of cutting up a 
carcass of beef will at once show the difference ; and upon 
being informed where the valuable pieces lie, an opinion can 
be formed as to whether the oxen the farmer is breeding or 
feeding possess the properties which will enable him to 
demand the highest price for them. 

The sirloin is the principal roasting-piece, making a very 
handsome dish, and is a universal favorite. It consists of 
two portions, 
the Scotch and 
English sides ; 
the former is 
ibove the lum- 
oar bones, and 
somewhat 
lard in ill-fed 
iattle ; the latter 
consists of the muscles under these bones, which are generally 
covered with fine fat, and are exceedingly tender. The 
)etter the beast is fed, the larger is the under muscle, better 
:overed with fat, and more tender to eat. The hook-bone 
nd the buttock are cut up for steaks, beef-steak pie, or 




SCOTCH MODE OF CUTTING VP BEEF. 



106 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

minced collops, and both these, together with the sirloin, 
bring the highest price. The large round and the small 
round are both -well known as excellent pieces for salting 
and boiling, and are eaten cold with great relish. The hough 
is peculiarly suited for foiling down for soup, having a large 
proportion of gelatinous matter. Brown soup is the princi- 
pal dish made of the hough, but its decoction forms an ex- 
cellent stock for various dishes, and will keep in a state of 
jelly for a considerable time. The thick and the thin flank 
are both admirable pieces for salting and boiling. The tail, 
insignificant as it may seem, makes a soup of a very fine 
flavor. Hotel-keepers have a trick of seasoning brown soup 
or rather beef-tea, with a few joints of tail, and passing it off 
for genuine ox-tail soup. These are all the pieces which 
constitute the hind-quarter ; and it will be seen that they are 
valuable both for roasting and boiling, not containing a single 
coarse piece. 

In the fore-quarter, is the spare rib, the six ribs of the back 
end of which make an excellent roast, and when taken from 
the side opposite to the lying one, being free of the bones 
of the spine, it makes a large one ; and it also makes excel- 
lent beefsteaks and beefsteak pie. The two runners and the 
nineholes make salting and boiling pieces ; but, of these, the 
nineholes is much the best, as it consists of layers of fat and 
lean without any bone ; whereas the fore parts of the runners 
have a piece of shoulder-blade in them, and every piece con- 
nected with that bone is more or less coarse-grained. The 
brisket eats very well boiled fresh in broth, and may be 
cooked and eaten with boiled greens or carrots. The 
shoulder-lyar is a coarse piece, and fit only for boiling fresh 



DRIVING AND SLAUGHTERING. 



197 



to make into broth or beef-tea. The nap, or shin, is 
analogous to the hough of the hind-leg, but not so rich and 
fine, there being much less gelatinous matter in it. The 
neck makes good broth ; and the sticking-piece is a great 
favorite with some epicures, on account of the pieces of rich 
fat in it. It makes an excellent stew, as also sweet barley- 
broth, and the meat eats well when boiled in it. 

These are all the pieces of the fore-quarter ; and it will be 
seen that they consist chiefly of boiling-pieces, and some of 
them none of the finest — the roasting-piece being confined to 
the six ribs of the spare rib, and the finest boiling-piece, 
corned, only to be found in the nineholes. 

The loin is the principal roasting-piece ; the rump is the 
favorite steak-piece ; the aitch-bone, the favorite stew ; the 
buttock, the thick flank, and the thin flank are all excellent 
boiling- pieces when corned; the hock and the shin make 
soup and afford 
stock for the 
various require- 
ments of the culi- 
nary art ; and 
the tail furnishes 
ox-tail soup — a 
favorite English 
luncheon. These 
are all the pieces of the hind-quarter, and they are valuable 
of their respective kinds. 

In the fore-quarter, the fore-rib, middle-rib, and chuckle - 
rib are all roasting-pieces, not alike good ; but in removing 
the part of the shoulder-blade in the middle-rib, the spare- 




ENGLISH MODE OF CUTTING UP BEEP. 



198 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

ribs below make a good broil or roast ; the neck makes soup, 
being used fresh, boiled ; the back end of the brisket is boiled, 
corned, or stewed ; the leg-of-mutton piece is coarse, but is 
as frequently stewed as boiled ; the shin is put to the same 
use as the shin and hock of the hind-quarter. 

On comparing the two modes of cutting-up, it will be ob- 
served that in the English there are more roasting-pieces 
than in the Scotch, a large proportion of the fore-quarter 
being used in that way. The plan, too, of cutting the loiji 
between the rump and aitch-bone in the hind-quarter, lays 
open the steak-pieces to better advantage than in the Scotch 
bullock. Extending the comparison from one part of the 
carcass to the other, in both methods, it will be seen that the 
most valuable pieces — the roasting — occupy its upper, and 
the less valuable — the boiling — its lower part. Every beast, 
therefore, that lays on beef more upon the upper part of its 
body is more valuable than one that lays the same quantity 
of flesh on its lower parts. 

It is deemed unnecessary to enter into details as to the 
modes of cutting-up most in vogue in this country, as there is 
a needlessly great want of uniformity. 

Of the qualities of beef obtained from the different breeds 
of cattle in England, there is no better meat than from the 
West Highlanders for fineness of grain and cutting up into 
convenient pieces for family use. The Galloways and Angus, 
when fattened in English pastures, are great favorites in the 
London market. The Short Horns afford excellent steaks, 
being thick of flesh, and the slice deep, large and juicy, and 
their covered flanks and nineholes are always thick, juicy, and 
well-mixed. The Herefords are somewhat similar to the Short 



DRIVING AND SLAUGHTERING. 199 

Horns, and the Devons, may, perhaps, be classed among the 
Galloways and Angus, while the Welsh cannot be compared to 
the West Highlanders. Taking, then, the breeds of Scotland 
as suppliers of good beef, they seem to be more valuable for 
the table than those of England. 

There are, perhaps, not sufficient data in existence to de- 
termine the true proportion of offal of all kinds to the beef 
of any given fat ox ; but approximations have been made, 
which may serve the purpose until the matter is investigated 
by direct experiment, under various circumstances. The 
dead weight bears to the live weight a ratio varying between 
.5H and .605 to 1 ; and on applying one or the other multi- 
plier to the cases of the live weight, a pretty correct 
approximation is reached. The tallow is supposed to be 
eight one-hundredths of the live weight ; so that the multi- 
plier is the decimal. 08. The hide is supposed to be five 
one-hundredths of the live weight ; so to obtain its weight, 
a multiplier, .05, is used. The other offals are supposed to 
be in a proportion of about one-fourth of the live weight ; 
so that the multiplier, .28, is as near as can be proposed 
under existing experience. 

Beef is the staple animal food of this country, and it is 
used in various states — fresh, salted, smoked, roasted, and 
boiled. When intended to be eaten fresh, the ribs will keep 
the best, and with care will keep five or six days in summer, 
and in winter ten days. The middle of the loin is the next 
best, and the rump the next. The round will not keep long, 
unless it is salted. The brisket is the worst, and will not 
keep more than three days in summer, and in winter a week. 

In regard to the power of the stomach to digest beef, that 



200 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

which is eaten boiled with salt only, is digested in two hours 
and forty-five minutes. Beef, fresh, lean, and rarely -roasted, 
and a beefsteak broiled, takes three hours to digest ; that 
fresh, and dry-roasted, and boiled, eaten with mustard, is 
digested in three and a half hours. Lean fresh beef fried, 
requires four hours, and old hard salted beef boiled, does not 
digest in less than four and a quarter hours. Fresh beef-suet 
boiled takes five and a half hours. 

The usual mode of preserving beef is by salting ; and, 
when intended to keep for a long time, such as for the use of 
shipping, it is always salted with brine ; but for family use 
it should be salted only with good salt j for brine dispels the 
juice of meat, and saltpetre only. seizes to make the meat 
dry, and give it a disagreeable and unnatural red color. 
Yarious experiments have been made in curing beef with 
salt otherwise than by hand-rubbing, and in a short space of 
time^ and also to preserve it from putrefaction by other 
means than salt. Some packers 'put meal in a copper which 
is rendered air-tight, and an air-pump then creates a 
vacuum within it, thereby extracting all the air out of the 
meat ; then brine is pumped in by pressure, which, entering 
into every pore of the meat formerly occupied by the air, is 
said to place it in a state of preservation in a few minutes. 
The carcass of an ox was preserved, in France, for two years 
from putrefaction by injecting four pounds of saline mixture 
into the carotid artery. Whether any such contrivance can 
be made available for family purposes, seems doubtful. 

Cattle, when slaughtered, are useful to man in various 
other ways than by affording food from their flesh, — their 
offal of tallow, hides, and horns, forming extensive articles 



DRIVING AND SLAUGHTERING. 201 

of commerce. Of the hide, the characteristics of a good one 
for strong purposes are strength in its middle, or butt, as it 
called, and lightness in the edges, or offal. A bad hide is 
the opposite of this — thick in the edges and thin in the 
middle. A good hide has a firm texture ; a bad one, loose 
and soft. A hide improves as the summer advances, and it 
continues to improve after the new coat of hair in autumn 
until November or December, when the coat gets rough from 
the coldness of the season, and the hide is then in its best 
state. It is surprising how a hide improves in thickness 
after the cold weather has set in. The sort of food does not 
seem to affect the quality of the hide ; but the better it is> 
and the better cattle have been fed, and the longer they have 
been well feci, even from a calf, the better the hide. From 
what has been said of the effect of weather upon the hide, it 
seems a natural conclusion that a hide is better from an ox 
that has been fed in the open air, than from one that has been 
kept in the barn. Dirt adhering to a hide injures it, par- 
ticularly in stall-fed animals ; and any thing that punctures 
a hide, such as warbles arising from certain insects, is also 
injurious. The best hides are obtained from the West 
Highlanders. The Short Horns produce the thinnest hides, 
the Aberdeenshire the next, and then the Angus. Of the 
same breed, the ox affords the strongest hide ; but, as hides 
are applied to various uses, the cow's, provided it be large, 
may be as valuable as that of the ox. The bull's hide is the 
least valuable. Hides are imported from Russia and South 
America. 

Hides, when deprived of their hair, are converted into 
leather by an infusion of the astringent property of bark. 



202 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

The old plan of tanning used to occupy a long time; but, 
such was the value of the process, that the old tanners used to 
pride themselves upon producing a substantial article— which 
is more than can be said in many instances under modern im- 
proved modes, which hasten the process, much to the injury 
of the article produced. Strong infusions of bark make 
leather brittle ; one hundred pounds of skin, quickly tanned 
in a strong infusion, produce one hundred and thirty-seven 
pounds of leather ; while a weak infusion produces only one 
hundred and seventeen and a half,— the additional nineteen 
and a half pounds serving only to deteriorate the leather, 
and causing it to contain much less textile animal solid. 
Leather thus highly charged with tanning is so spongy as to 
allow moisture to pass readily through its pores, to the great 
discomfort and injury of those who wear shoes made of it. 
The proper mode of tanning lasts a year, or a year and a half, 
according to the quality of the leather wanted and the nature 
of the hides = A perfect leather can be recognized by its 
section, which should have a glistening marbled appearance, 
without any white streaks in the middle. The hair which is 
taken off hides in tanning, is employed to mix with plaster, 
and is often surreptitiously put into hair-mattresses. 

The principal subtances of which glue is made are the 
parings of ox and other thick hides, which form the strongest 
article and the refuse of the leather-dresser. Both afford 
from forty-five to fifty-five per cent, of glue. The tendons, 
and many other offals of slaughter-houses, also afford 
materials, though of an inferior quality, for this purpose. 
The refuse of tanneries— such as the ears of oxen and calves 



DRIVING AND SLAUGHTERING. 203 

— are better articles. Animal skins also, in any form, uncom- 
bined with tannin, may be worked into glue. 

Ox-tallow is of great importance in the arts. Candles and 
soap are made of it, and it enters largely into the dressing of 
leather and the use of machinery. Large quantities are 
annually exported from Russia. Ox-tallow consists of 
seventy-six parts of stearine and twenty-four of oleine, out 
of one hundred parts. 

The horns of oxen are used for many purposes. The 
horn consists of two parts : an outward horny case, and an 
inward conical-shaped substance, somewhat intermediate 
between indurated hair and bone, called the fluid of the 
horn. These two parts are separated by means of a blow 
upon a block of wood. The horny exterior is then cut into 
three portions by means of a frame saw. The lowest of 
these, next the root of the horn, after undergoing several 
processes by which it is rendered flat, is made into combs. 
The middle of the horn, after having been flattened by heat, 
and its transparency improved by oil, is split into thin layers, 
and forms a substitute for glass in lanterns of the commonest 
kind. The tip of the horns is used by makers of knife- 
handles and of the tops of whips, and for other similar pur- 
poses. The interior, or core of the horn, is boiled down in 
water. A large quantity of fat rises to the surface ; this is 
put aside, and sold to the makers of yellow soap. The 
liquid itself is used as a kind of glue, and is purchased by 
the cloth-draper for stiffening. The bony substance remain- 
ing behind is then sent to the mill, and, after having been 
ground down, is sold to farmers for manure. 

Besides these various purposes to which the different parts 



204 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

of the horn are applied, the clippings which arise in comb- 
making are sold to the farmer for manure, as well as the 
shavings which form the refuse of the lantern-makers. 
Horn, as is well known, is easily rendered soft and pliant in 
warm water ; and by this peculiarity and its property of ad- 
hering like glue, large plates of horn can be made by cement* 
ing together the edges of small pieces rendered flat by a 
peculiar process, as a substitute for glass. Imitation of 
tortoise-shell can be given to horn by means of various 
metallic solutions. Horn, also, when softened, can be 
imprinted with any pattern, by means of dies 




Under this head it is proposed to notice such 
diseases as are most common among cattle, together with 
their symptoms, and to suggest such treatment of the same 
as has been found in the practice of the author, in the main, 
effective. He is aware that much more space might have 
been appropriated to this head, as has been, the case in other 
treatises of this class ; but he doubts the propriety of multi- 
plying words about diseases which are of very rare occur- 
rence, deeming it more fitting to leave such instances ex- 
clusively to the intelligent consideration of the reliable 
veterinary practitioner. 

205 



206 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

For convenience of reference, the diseases here noticed 
have been arranged in alphabetical order ; the whole con- 
cluding with information as to two or three operations which 
cannot be uninteresting to, or unprofitable for, the reader. 



ABOBTION. 

The cow is, more than any other animal, subject to abor- 
tion, or slinking, which takes place at different periods of 
pregnancy, from half of the usual time to the seventh, or 
almost to the eighth month. The symptoms of the approach 
of abortion, unless the breeder is very much among his stock, 
are not often perceived ; or, if perceived, they are concealed 
by the person in charge, lest he should be accused of neglect 
or improper treatment. 

The cow is somewhat off her feed— rumination ceases— she 
is listless and dull — the milk diminishes or dries up — the 
motions of the foetus become more feeble, and at length 
cease altogether — there is a slight degree of enlargement of 
the belly — there is a little staggering in her walk — when she 
is down she lies longer than usual, and when she gets up she 
stands for a longer time motionless. 

As the abortion approaches, a yellow or red glairy fluid 
runs from the vagina (this is a symptom, which rarely, 
or never, deceives) her breathing becomes laborious and 
slightly convulsive. The belly has for several days lost its 
natural rotundity, and has been evidently falling, — she begins 
to moan,— the pulse becomes small, wiry, and intermittent. 
At length labor comes on, and is often attended with much 
difficulty and danger. 

If the abortion has been caused by blows or violence, 



ABORTION. 20T 

•Aether from brutality, or the animal's having been teased by 
oher cows in season, or by oxen, the symptoms are more 
itense. The animal suddenly ceases to eat and to ruminate 
.-is uneasy, paws the ground, rests her head on the manger 
■foile she is standing, and on her flank when she is lying 
(>wn — hemorrhage frequently comes on from the uterus, 
< when this is not the case the mouth of that organ is 
^asmodically contracted. The throes come on, are distress- 
3gly violent, and continue until the womb is ruptured. If 
■I these circumstances be not observed, still the labor is 
j-otracted and dangerous. 

Abortion is sometimes singularly frequent in particular 
cstricts, or on particular farms, appearing to assume an 
eizootic or epidemic form. This has been accounted for in 
vrious ways. Some have imagined it to be contagious. It 
is indeed, destructively propagated among the cows, but 
t.3 is probably to be explained on a different principle from 
tht of contagion. The cow is a considerably imaginative 
ainal, and highly irritable during the period of pregnancy. 
In.bortion, the foetus is often putrid before it is discharged ; 
ancthe placenta, or afterbirth, rarely or never follows it, but 
becmes decomposed, and, as it drops away in fragments, 
em 1 ? a peculiar and most noisome smell. This smell seems 
to I peculiarly annoying to the other cows : they sniff at it 
ana-hen run bellowing about. Some sympathetic influence 
is excised on their uterine organs, and in a few days a 
grear or less number of those that had pastured together like- 
wisebort. Hence arises the rapidity with which the foetus 
is ufally taken away and buried deeply, and far from the 
cow£ and hence the more effectual preventive of smearing 



208 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

the parts of the cow with tar or stinking oils, in order to 
conceal or subdue the smell ; and hence, too, the inefficacyj , 
as a preventive, of removing her to a far-distant pasture. . 

The pastures on which the blood or inflammatory fever is , 
most prevalent are those on which the cows oftenest slinl : 
their calves. Whatever can become a source of genera [ 
excitation and fever is likely, during pregnancy, to produce; \ 
inflammation of the womb ; or whatever would, under' otheij,* 
circumstances, excite inflammation of almost any organ, ha?j ? 
at that time its' injurious effect determined to this particulai^ 
one. 

Every farmer is aware of the injurious effect of the coarse; . 
rank herbage of low, marshy, and woody countries, and h| 8 
regards these districts as the chosen residence of red waterj ; 
it may be added, that they are also the chosen residence o! f 
abortion. Hard and mineral waters are justly considered ii is 
laying the foundation of many diseases among cattle, and (kf 
abortion among the rest. 

Some careful observers have occasionally attributed abcU. 
tion to disproportion in size between the male and the fema(i e . 
Farmers were formerly too fond of selecting a great ov/ er . 
grown bull to serve their dairy or breeding cows, and m| mv 
a heifer, or little cow, was seriously injured ; and she eitjher 
east her calf, or was lost in parturition. The breeders, f 
cattle in later years are beginning to act more wisely in this 
matter. I 

Cows that are degenerating into consumption are exceed- 
ingly subject to abortion. They are continually in h ea t ; 
they rarely become pregnant, or if they do, a great proportion 
of them cast their calves. Abortion, also, often follows a 



ABORTION. 209 

sudden change from poor to luxuriant food. Cows that have 
been out, half-starved in the winter, when incautiously turned 
on rich pasture in the spring, are too apt to cast their calves 
from the undue general or local excitation that is set up. 
Hence it is, that when this disposition to abort first appears 
in a herd, it is naturally in a cow that has been lately pur-' 
chased. Fright, from whatever cause, may produce this 
trouble. There are singular cases on record of whole herds 
of cows slinking their calves after having been terrified by 
an unusually violent thunder-storm. Commerce with the 
bull soon after conception is also a frequent cause, as well as 
putrid smells — other than those already noticed — and the use 
of a diseased bull. Besides these tangible causes of abortion, 
there is the mysterious agency of the atmosphere. There 
are certain seasons when abortion is strangely frequent, and 
fatal ; while at other times it disappears in a manner for sev- 
eral successive years. 

The consequences of premature calving are frequently of 
a very serious nature ; and even when the case is more 
favorable, the results are, nevertheless, very annoying. The 
animal very soon goes again to heat, but in a great many 
cases she fails to become pregnant ; she almost invariably * 
does so, if she is put to the bull during the first heat after 
abortion. If she should come in calf again during that 
season, it is very probable that at about the same period of 
gestation, or a little later, she will again abort : or that when 
she becomes in calf the following year, the same fatality will 
attend her. Some say that this disposition to cast her young 
gradually ceases ; that if she does miscarry, it is at a later 
and still later period of pregnancy ; and that, in about three 
14 



210 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

or four years, she may be depended upon as a tolerably safe 
breeder. He, however, would be sadly inattentive to his own 
interests who keeps a profitless beast so long. 

The calf very rarely lives, and in the majority of cases it is 
born dead or putrid. If there should appear to be any 
chance of saving it, it should be washed with warm water, 
carefully dried, and fed frequently with small quantities of 
new milk, mixed, according to the apparent weakness of the 
animal, either with raw eggs or good gruel ; while the bowels 
should, if occasion requires, be opened by means of small 
doses of castor-oil. If any considerable period is to elapse 
before the natural time of pregnancy would have expired, it 
will usually be necessary to bring up the little animal en- 
tirely by hand. 

The treatment of abortion differs but little from that of 
parturition. If the farmer has once been tormented by this 
pest in his dairy, he should carefully watch the approaching 
symptoms of casting the calf, and as soon as he perceives 
them, should remove the animal from the pasture to a com- 
fortable cow-house or shed. If the discharge be glairy, but 
not offensive, he may hope that the calf is not dead ; he will 
be assured of this by the motion of the foetus, and then it is 
possible that the abortion may still be avoided. He should 
hasten to bleed her, and that copiously, in proportion to her 
age, size, condition, and the state of excitation in which he 
may find her ; and he should give a dose of physic imme- 
diately after the bleeding. When the physic begins to 
operate, he should administer half a drachm of opium and 
half an ounce of sweet spirits of nitre. Unless she is in a 
state of great debility, he should allow nothing but gruel, 



ABORTION. 211 

and she should be kept as quiet as possible. By these means 
he may occasionally allay the general or local irritation that 
precedes or causes the abortion, and the cow may yet go to 
her full time. 

Should, however, the discharge be fetid, the conclusion will 
be that the foetus is dead, and must be got rid of, and that as 
speedily as possible. Bleeding may even then be requisite, 
if much fever exists ; or, perhaps, if there is debility, some 
stimulating drink may not be out of place. In other respects 
the animal must be treated as if her usual time of pregnancy 
had been accomplished. 

Much may be done in the way of preventing this habit of 
abortion among cows. The foetus must be got rid of imme- 
diately. It should be buried deep, and far from the cbw- 
pasture. Proper means should be taken to hasten the 
expulsion of the placenta. A dose of physic .should be 
given ; ergot of rye administered ; the hand should be intro- 
duced, and an effort made, cautiously and gently, to detach 
the placenta ; all violence, however, should be carefully 
avoided ; for considerable and fatal hemorrhage may be 
speedily produced. The parts of the cow should be well 
washed with a solution of the chloride of lime, which should 
be injected up the vagina, and also given internally. In the 
mean time, and especially after the expulsion of the placenta, 
the cow-house should be well washed with the same so- 
lution. 

The cow, when beginning to recover, should be fattened 
and sold. This is the first and the grand step toward the 
prevention of abortion, and he is unwise who does not 
immediately adopt it. All other means are comparatively 



212 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

inefficient and worthless. Should the owner be reluctant 
to part with her, two months, at least, should pass before 
she is permitted to return to her companions. Prudence 
would probably dictate that she should never return to 
them, but be kept, if possible, on some distant part of the 
farm. 

Abortion having once occurred among the herd, the breed- 
ing cows should be carefully watched. Although they 
should be well fed, they should not be suffered to get into 
too high condition. Unless they are decidedly poor and 
weak, they should be bled between the third and fourth 
months of pregnancy, and a mild dose of physic administered 
to each. If the pest continues to reappear, the owner should 
most carefully examine how far any of the causes of abortion 
that have been detected, may exist on his farm, and exert 
himself to thoroughly remove them. 

An interesting paper upon this subject may be found in 
the Veterinary Review, vol. 1., p. 434, communicated by 
Prof. Henry Tanner, of Queen's College, Birmingham, Eng- 
land. As it suggests a theory as to the origin of this disease 
which is, to say the least, quite plausible, we transfer the 
article : — 

" I shall not go into any notice of the general subject of 
abortion, but rather restrict my remarks to a cause which is 
very much overlooked, and yet which is probably more 
influential than all other causes combined. I refer to the 
growth of ergotized grass-seeds in our pastures. 

" The action of ergot of rye (secale cornutum) upon the 
womb is well known as an excitant to powerful action, which 
usually terminates in the expulsion of the foetus. We have a 



ABORTION. 213 

similar disease appearing on the seeds of our grasses, but 
especially on the rye grass, and thus we have an ergot of the 
seeds of rye grass produced, possessing similar exciting 
powers upon the womb to those produced by the ergot of 
rye. 

" Two conditions are necessary for the production of this 
ergot upon the seed of rye grass. The first is, the grass 
must be allowed to run to seed ; and the second is, that the 
climate must be favorable for encouraging the development 
of the ergot. 

" In practice, we find that on land which has been fed on 
during the summer, unless it has been grazed with unusual 
care, much of the grass throws up seed-stalks and produces 
seed. In districts where the climate is humid and rain 
abundant, as well as in very wet seasons, these seeds become 
liable to the growth of this ergot. Cattle appear to eat it 
with a relish, and the result is that abortion spreads rapidly 
through the herd. Heifers and cows, which, up to the 
appearance of the ergot, have held in calf, are excited to cast 
their calves by consuming it in their food. The abortion 
having once commenced, we know that the peculiarly 
sensitive condition of the breeding animal will cause its 
extension, even where the original cause may not be in 
operation ; but their combined action renders the loss far 
more serious. If we add to this the tendency which an 
animal receives from her first abortion, to repeat it when 
next in calf, we see how seriously the mischief becomes 
multiplied. 

" A somewhat extended observation, added to my own ex- 
perience, has led me to the conviction that very much of the 



214 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

loss arising from abortion in our cows may be traced to tne 
cause I have named. I feel assured the influence is even 
more extended than I have stated ; for not only would the 
foetus be thrown off in its advanced stage, but also in its 
earlier growth, thus causing great trouble to breeders of 
high-bred stock, the repeated turning of cows to the bull, and 
at most irregular intervals. 

" The remedy differs in no respect from the ordinary mode 
of treatment, except that it compels a removal of the stock 
from the influence* of the cause. Much, however, may be 
done by way of prevention ; and this I shall briefly notice. 

" It simply consists in keeping breeding cows and heifers 
upon land free from these seeds. Grass which has been 
grazed during the summer, will very generally, in a humid 
climate, have some of this ergotized seed ; but I have not 
observed it produced before the end of July, or early in 
August ; and I doubt its existence, to any injurious degree, 
up to this time. We may, therefore, consider such ground 
safe up to this period. If the breeding stock are then 
removed to grass land which, having been mown for this 
operation is a guaranty against any seeds remaining, it will 
seldom, if ever, happen that any injury will result from the 
production of ergotized grass later in the season. 

" I will not venture to say that such will not appear in 
some cases where the grass has been cut early and has been 
followed by a rapid growth ; but, at any rate, we have 
grazing land free from this excitant from July until Septem- 
ber ; and in the grass which has been mown late, I do not 
consider that there is the least fear of ergot's being again 
formed in that season. In this manner a farmer may keep 



APOPLEXY — BLACK WATER. 215 

grass land for his breeding stock entirely free from ergotized 
grass ; and, consequently, so far as this cause is concerned, 
they will be free from abortion. How far young heifers may 
be prejudicially influenced, before they are used for breeding, 
by an excitement of the womb, appears to me to be a sub- 
ject worthy of some attention on the part of the veterinary 
profession." 

APOPLEXY. 

This is a determination of blood to the head, causing 
pressure upon the brain. Animals attacked with this 
disease are generally in a plethoric condition. The usual 
symptoms are coma (a sleepy state), eyes protruding, respi- 
ration accelerated ; finally, the animal falls, struggles, and dies. 

In such cases, bleeding should be resorted to at an early 
period ; give in drink one pound of Epsom-salts. 



BLACK WATEE. 

This is simply an exaggerated stage of the disease known 
as Red Water, — to which the reader is referred in its appro- 
priate place,— the urine being darker in color in consequence 
of the admixture of venous blood. 

The symptoms are similar, though more acute. There is 
constipation at first, which is followed by diarrhoea, large 
quantities of blood passing away with the evacuations from 
the bowels ; symptoms of abdominal pain are present ; the 
loins become extremely tender ; and the animal dies in a 
greatly prostrated condition. 

The treatment does not differ from that prescribed in case 
of Bed Water. 



216 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

BEONCHITIS. 

The trachea and bronchial tubes are frequently the seat of 
inflammation, especially in the spring of the year, — the 
symptoms of which are often confounded with those of other 
pulmonary diseases. This inflammation is frequently pre- 
ceded by catarrhal affections; cough is often present for along 
time before the more acute symptoms are observed. Bron- 
chitis occasionally makes its appearance in an epizootic form. 

Symptoms. — A peculiarly anxious expression of the 
countenance will be observed ; respiration laborious ; a 
husky, wheezing, painful cough ; on placing the ear to the 
windpipe a sonorous rale is heard ; symptomatic fever also 
prevails to a greater or less extent. 

Treatment. — Counter-irritation should be early resorted to ; 
strong mustard, mixed with equal parts of spirits of harts- 
horn and water, and made into a thin paste, should be 
applied all along the neck, over the windpipe, and to the 
sides, and should be well rubbed in; or the tincture of 
cantharides, with ten drops of castor-oil to each ounce, 
applied in the same manner as the former, will be found 
equally effective. Give internally ten drops of Fleming's 
tincture of aconite every four hours, until five or six doses 
have been given; after which, give one of the following 
powders twice a day : nitrate of potash, one ounce ; Bar- 
badoes aloes, one ounce ; Jamaica ginger, half an ounce ; 
pulverized-gentian root, one ounce ; mix and divide into 
eight powders. If necessary a pound of salts may be given. 



CONSUMPTION. 21 1 

CONSUMPTION 

This affection — technically known as phthisis pulmonalis 
— is the termination of chronic disease of the lungs. These 
organs become filled with many little cysts, or sacks, con- 
taining a yellowish or yellowish -white fluid, which in time is 
hardened, producing a condition of the lungs known as 
tuberculous. These tubercles in turn undergo another 
change, becoming soft in the centre and gradually involving 
the whole of the hardened parts, which, uniting with adjoin- 
ing ones, soon forms cysts of considerable size. These cysts 
are known as abscesses. 

No treatment will be of much service here. It is, 
therefore, better, if the animal is not too poor in flesh, to have 
it slaughtered. 

CORYZA 

In the spring, and late in the fall, catarrhal affections are 
quite common, occurring frequently in a epizootic form. 
Coryza, or nasal catarrh, — commonly called a cold in the 
head, — is not very common among cows. As its name 
implies, it is a local disease, confined to the lining membrane 
of the nose ; and, consequently, the general system is not 
usually disturbed. 

Symptoms. — The animal will be observed to sneeze ; the 
Schneiderian membrane (membrane of the nose) is heightened 
in color ; cough sometimes accompanies ; there is also a 
muco-purulent discharge from the nose. Neglect to attend 
to these early symptoms frequently occasions disease of a 




218 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

more serious nature ; in fact, coryza may be regarded as the 
forerunner of all epizootic pulmonary disorders. 

Treats 
ment — The 
animal 
should be 
kept on a 
low diet for 
h^^ a few days ; 
the nostrils 
occasionally 

A CHAT ON THK KOAD. steamed, 

and one of the following powders given night and morning, 
which, in most cases, will be all the medicine required : 
nitrate of potassa, one ounce ; digitalis leaves pulverized and 
tartrate of antimony, of each one drachm ; sulphate of copper, 
two drachms ; mix, and divide into eight powders. Should 
the disease prove obstinate, give for two or three days two 
ounces of Epsom-salts at a dose, dissolved in water, three 
times a day. 

COW-POX. 

Two varieties of sore teats occur in the cow, in the form of 
pustular eruptions. They first appear as small vesicles 
containing a purulent matter, and subsequently assume a 
scabby appearance, or small ulcers remain, which often prove 
troublesome to heal. This latter is the cow-pox, from which 
Jenner derived the vaccine matter. 

Treatment. — Foment the teats well with warm water and 
Castile-soap ; after which, wipe the bag dry, and dress with 



DIARRHOEA. 219 

citrine ointment. The preparations of iodine have also been 
recommended, and they are very serviceable. 



DIAKRHCEA. 

Cattle are frequently subject to this disease, particularly in 
the spring of the year when the grass is young and soft. 
Occasionally it assumes a very obstinate form in consequence 
of the imperfect secretion of gastric juice ; the fceces are 
thin, watery, and fetid, followed by very great prostration of 
the animal. 

The symptoms of diarrhoea are too well known to require 
any detailed description. 

Treatment. — If in a mild form, the diet should be low ; give 
two ounces of Epsom-salts, twice a day. In a more obsti- 
nate form, give two drachms of carbonate of soda in the food. 
Oak-bark tea will be found very useful in these cases ; or one 
of the following powders, twice a day, will be found very 
advantageous : pulverized opium and catechu, each one and 
a half ounces ; prepared chalk, one drachm ; to be given in 
the feed. .♦ 

Calves are particularly subject to this disease, and it often 
proves fatal to them. It sometimes assumes an epizootic 
form, when it is generally of a mild character. So long as 
the calf is lively and feeds well, the farmer should entertain 
no fear for him ; but if he mopes about, refuses his food, 
ceases to ruminate, wastes in flesh, passes mucus and blood 
with the faeces, and exhibits symptoms of pain, the case is a 
dangerous one. 

In such an emergency, lose no time, but give two or three 
ounces of Castor-oil with flour-gruel, or two ounces of salts 



220 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

at a dose, followed with small draughts of oak-bark tea; 
or give, twice a day, one of the following powders : pulverized 
catechu, opium, and Jamaca ginger, of each half an ounce ; 
prepared chalk, one ounce ; mix, and divide into twelve pow- 
ders. Bran washes, green food, and flour-gruel should be 
given, with plenty of salt. 



DYSENTERY 

This disease is very frequently confounded with the fore- 
going. A distinction, however, exists, — since inflammation 
appears in this disease, while it is absent in the former. In 
this affection, inflammation of the large intestines takes place, 
which is attended with diarrhoea. The fceces are covered 
with blood ; the animal rapidly becomes prostrated, and death 
frequently comes to his relief. 

Youatt says: "It is, however, with dysentery that the 
practitioner is most loth to cope, — a disease that betrays 
thousands of cattle. This, also, may be either acute or 
chronic. Its causes are too often buried in obscurity, and 
its premonitory symptoms are disregarded or unknown. 
There appears to be a strong predisposition in cattle to take 
on this disease. It seems to be the winding-up of many 
serious complaints, and the foundation of it is sometimes laid 
by those that appear to be of the most trifling nature. It is 
that in cattle which glanders and farcy are in the horse, — the 
breaking up of the constitution. 

" Dysentery may be a symptom and concomitant of other 
diseases. It is one of the most fearful characteristics of 
murrain ; it is the destructive accompaniment, or consequence, 
of phthisis. It is produced by the sudden disappearance of 



DYSENTERY. 221 

a cutaneous eruption ; it follows the cessation of chronic 
hoose ; it is the consequence of the natural or artificial sus- 
pension of eyery secretion. Were any secretion to be par- 
ticularly selected, the repression of which would produce 
dysentery, it would be that of the milk. How often does the 
farmer observe that no sooner does a milch cow cease her 
usual supply of milk than she begins to purge ! There may 
not appear to be any thing else the matter with her ; but she 
purges, and, in the majority of cases, that purging is fatal. 

"It may, sometimes, however, be traced to sufficient 
causes, exclusive of previous disease. Unwholesome food — 
exposure to cold — neglect at the time of calving — low and 
marshy situations — the feeding in meadows that have been 
flooded, where it is peculiarly fatal — the grazing (according 
to Mr. Leigh, and our experience confirms his statement) upon 
the clays lying over the blue lias rock — the neighborhood of 
woods and of half-stagnant rivers — the continuation of un- 
usually sultry weather — overwork, and all the causes of 
acute dysentery, may produce that of a chronic nature ; an 
acute dysentery — neglected, or badly, or even most skillfully 
treated — may degenerate into an incurable chronic affection. 
Half starve a cow, or overfeed her, milk her to exhaustion, 
or dry her milk too rapidly — and dysentery may follow. 

" The following will, probably, be the order of the symp- 
toms, if they are carefully observed : There will be a little 
dullness or anxiety of countenance, the muzzle becoming 
short or contracted ; a slight shrinking when the loins are 
pressed upon ; the skin a little harsh and dry ; the hair a 
little rough ; there will be a slight degree of uneasiness and 
shivering that scarcely attracts attention ; then — except it be 



222 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

the degeneracy of acute into chronic dystentery— constipa- 
tion may be perceived. It will be to a certain extent, 
obstinate ; the excrement will voided with pain ; it will be 
dry, hard, and expelled in small quantities. In other cases, 
perhaps, purging will be present from the beginning; the 
animal will be tormented with tenesmus, or frequent desire 
to void its excrement, and that act attended by straining and 
pain, by soreness about the anus, and protrusion of the 
rectum, and sometimes by severe colicky spasms. In many 
cases, however, and in those of a chronic form, few of these 
distressing symptoms are observed, even at the commence- 
ment of the disease ; but the animal voids her fceces oftener 
than it is natural that she should, and they are more fluid than 
in a state of health ; while at the same time she loses her 
appetite and spirits and condition, and is evidently wasting 
away." 

Treatment, — Give one drachm of the extract of bella- 
donna, three, times a day, dissolved in water ; or calomel and 
powdered opium, of each one drachm three times daily. As 
soon as the inflammatory stage passes by, give one of the fol- 
lowing three times daily, in their gruel : nitrate of potash pul- 
verized, gentian-root pulverized, of each one ounce ; pulverized 
Jamaica ginger, one half an ounce ; pulverized caraway, or 
anise-seed, six drachms. A bottle of porter given once or 
twice a day, will be found of very great advantage. 



ENTERITIS. 

This is an inflammation of the external or internal coat 
of the intestines, sometimes attended with violent purging, 
especially when it is confined to the internal coats. Oxen in 



ENTERITIS. 223 

good condition are more subject to this disease than are 
cows. It most freqently occurs in dry, hot weather. It is 
sudden in its attacks, and often fatal in its termination. 

Symptoms.- — The animal is dull, and not disposed to move 
about ; the muzzle is dry, and the coat staring ; the animal 
yields, on pressure of the loins ; a weak, staggering gait, when 
forced to move ; respiration hurried ; pulse accelerated but 
small ; eyes red, full and fiery ; head protruding ; mouth, 
ears., and. horns hot ; appetite bad ; rumination ceases ; the 
bowels become constipated ; the animal moans continually, 
and froths at the mouth. These symptoms violently increase 
as the disease advances. The animal becomes more depressed 
and feeble, grinds his teeth, and appears half unconscious, 
and dies in convulsions. 

Of the causes of this disease, Youatt, who is almost the 
only authority we have upon this subject, says : " It seems 
occasionally to be epidemic ; for several instances of it 
occur,, of the same character, and in the same district. M. 
Cruzel gives an illustration of this in his description of the 
disease that destroyed so many cattle, in the years 1826 to 
1827, in the Department de la Nievre. Out of two hundred 
and eighteen cattle belonging to three farmers, one hundred 
and thirteen were attacked by this disease, and eighty-three 
of them died. One farmer in a neighboring district had 
nineteen head of cattle, all of which sickened, but only three 
were lost. These were unusually hot summers. The 
upland pasture was burnt up, or what remained of it was 
rendered unusually stimulating ; and the acrid plants of the 
marshes and low grounds accquired additional deleterious 
agency. 



224 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

"When isolated cases occur, they may generally be 
attributed to mismanagement. Exposure to cold, or the 
drinking of cold water when overheated with work ; too hard 
work in sultry weather ; the use of water stagnant, impure, 
or containing any considerable quantity of metallic salts ; 
the sudden revulsion of some cutaneous eruption ; the 
crowding of animals into a confined place; too luxuriant 
and stimulating food generally ; and the mildewed and un- 
wholesome food on which cattle are too often kept, are fruitful 
sources of this complaint." 

Treatment. — In the early stage of the disease, give an 
active purge, and follow it with ten drops of Fleming's 
tincture of aconite, four times daily, for two days; then 
give drachm doses of the extract of belladonna ; give no 
food for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, according to cir- 
cumstances. Bleeding, if done early, is often beneficial. 
Counter-irritants to the belly are also recommended ; the best 
are mustard, hartshorn, and water, mixed together — or tinc- 
ture of cantharides, with one drachm of croton-oil added to 
every ounce 

EPIZOOTICS. 

Diseases of this class have the same relation to the inferior 
animals that epidemic diseases have to man. Of course, they 
assume a very pestilential character. Scarcely a year passes 
away without diseases of this nature making their appear- 
ance in some parts of the world. They occur at all seasons 
of the year, but more generally prevail in the spring and fall. 
The period of th '^ duration varies from months to years. 
They are, at times, mild in their attacks, and yield readily to 



epizootics. 225 

proper treatment ; at other times, they become painful pesti- 
lences, destroying every thing in their course. 

The causes are generally sought for in some peculiar con- 
dition of the atmosphere. The use of the milk and flesh of 
diseased cattle has frequently been productive of malignant 
diseases in the human family. 

Silius Italicus^ describes a fearful epizootic, which first 
attacked the dog, then the feathered biped, then horses, and 
cattle, and, last of all, the human being. 

" On mules and dogs the infection first began, 
And, last, tlie vengeful arrows fixed in man." 

Epizootics, occurring in rats, cats, dogs, horses, and cattle, 
which were followed in the succeeding years by more fearful 
on^s which attacked the human family, are numerously 
recorded. These scourges have appeared in all ages of the 
world ; but, as time and space will not allow our entering 
upon an extended consideration of them, — however interest- 
ing they might be to the general reader, — we shall content 
ourselves by quoting, somewhat in brief, from the lectures 
of the late William Youatt on these fatal maladies : — 

" In the year 801, and at the commencement of the reign 
of Charlemagne, an epidemic disease devastated a great 
portion of his dominions. This was attributed to the villainy 
of the Duke of Benevento, who was said to have employed a 
great many persons in scattering an enchanted powder over 
the fields, which destroyed both the cattle and the food of the 
cattle. M. Paulet seems inclined to give full credence to 
this, and says that history offers many proofs of this destruc- 
tive and diabolical practice. He affirms that many persons 

15 



226 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

were punished in Germany, France, and, particularly, at 
Toulouse, for the commission of this crime. Several of the 
suspected agents of these atrocities were put to the torture: 
and made full confession of their crime. 

" Of the occurrence of these diseases from the year 800 to 
1316, — an interval of mental darkness, and of horrors and 
calamities of every kind, — history records twenty cases« 
more or less destructive, and extending, with greater or less 
devastation, over France and Germany, Italy and England. 
Of these twenty, four date their origin from an excessive 
moisture in the air, accompanied by almost continual rains, 
and flooding the country to a considerable extent. One was 
supposed to be the consequence of long-continued drought 
and excessive heat ; one was traced to the influence of an 
eclipse of the sun ; another, to a comet ; and a fourth, to a 
most unusually stormy winter. The reader will have the 
kindness to remember that we are here expressing the 
opinions of the writers of the day, and by no means, our own 
belief of the matter. 

" Of the four which trace their origin to extreme wet and 
its consequences, the first occurred in France, in 820, after a 
long continuance of rain ; and it was equally fatal to men 
and cattle. The second, which was equally fatal to both, 
appeared in Lorraine, in 889. The third broke out among 
the cavalry of the army of Arnoul, in its passage over the, 
Alps, on its return to Italy. The fourth pervaded the whole 
of England in 1125, and was equally fatal to the biped and 
the quadruped. 

" That which followed excessive heat and drought, was 
generally prevalent throughout Europe, but especially so in 



EPIZOOTICS. 22? 

Germany. It attacked oxen, sheep, and pigs. It appeared 
in 994, and lasted six months. 

" The one which was attributed to the comet, and which 
principally attacked cattle, appeared in France in 943. 
Almost every animal perished. 

"Another, that was supposed to be connected with an 
eclipse of the sun, was prevalent throughout the greater part 
of Germany, among men and animals, in 989. 

" The disease, which was the consequence of a cold and 
boisterous winter, was principally prevalent in France, in 
88 ?, and committed sad ravages among the herds of cattle 
and sheep. 

" Of the twelve others, of which authors do not indicate 
the cause, the first was in France, in 810, and principally 
among cattle. The second was also in France, in 850, and 
almost depopulated the country of cattle. The third, in 868, 
was common to all animals in France. The fourth, in 810, 
was in the same country, and caused severe loss among 
cattle. The fifth prevailed on the Rhine and in Germany, 
and destroyed an almost incalculable number of cattle. The 
sixth attacked the horses of the army of Arnoul in Lorraine, 
in 888. The seventh, in 940, destroyed a vast number of 
cattle in France, Italy, and Germany. The eighth and ninth 
were in France, in 941 and 942, and almost all the cattle in 
the country perished. The tenth pestilence broke out in 
England, in the year 1041, and frightful was its devastation 
among all animals, and, particularly, horned cattle. The 
eleventh also devastated our country, in 1103, and the 
ravages were dreadful. The twelfth was chiefly fatal in 
Germany, and particularly in Gueldres, in 1149. 



228 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

" These twenty pestilences occurred in the space of 506 
years. Five or six of them were most prevalent among 
cattle ; two were almost confined to horses ; twelve included, 
to a greater or less degree, almost every species of quadru- 
peds ; and four extended to the human being. Among these 
the ravages of eight were most destructive in France ; as 
many in Germany ; and four in Italy and England. 

" As far as we have hitherto proceeded, it will also ap- 
pear that cattle are more subject to these diseases than any 
other species of domesticated animals, and that the pestilence 
is always most fearful among them. It is also evident that 
the maladies which proceed from cold or humidity are more 
frequent in the temperate and southern parts of Europe than 
those which depend upon drought, or almost any other 
cause. 

" The malady lingers in different countries, in proportion 
to its want of power to accomplish at once all its devasta- 
tion. 

" After this time, there are few satisfactory accounts of 
these diseases for more than five centuries. We only know 
that, occasionally suspending their ravages, — or, rather, visit- 
ing new districts when they had ceased to desolate others 
— they have continued to be objects of terror and instru- 
ments of devastation, even unto the present day ; and it is 
only within a few years that they have been really understood, j 
and have become, to a certain degree, manageable." 

In the United States, epizootic diseases have been of 
frequent occurrence ; but, owing to the want of properly 
qualified veterinary surgeons, they have not, until within a 
very recent period; been properly described or understood. 



epizjootics. 229 

The day, however, is fast approaching when this void will be 
filled, and when epizootic and other diseases will be correctly 
noted and recorded. The necessity for this must have been 
forcibly impressed upon the minds of the inhabitants of our 
country from the experience of the last ten or twelve years. 

Respecting the late epizootic among cattle in Portage 
County, Ohio, William Pierce, V.S., of Ravenna, thus de- 
scribes the symptoms as they appeared, in a letter to the 
author : " A highly-colored appearance of the sclerotic coat 
of the eye, also of the conjunctiva (a lining membrane of 
the eyelid) and the Schneiderian membrane of the nose ; a 
high animal heat about the head and horns ; a highly 
inflammatory condition of the blood ; contraction of all the 
abdominal viscera ; hurried respiration ; great prostration 
and nervous debility ; lameness ; followed by gangrene of 
the extremity of the tail, and the hind-feet ; terminating in 
mortification and death." 

Mr. Pierce is convinced that these symptoms are produced 
by the continued use of the ergot, or spur of the June grass, — 
the effects being similar to those produced upon the human 
family by long-continued use of ergot of rye. This disease 
assumes both an acute and chronic form. 

The same gentleman also says : " Ordinary observers, as 
well as those who claim to be scientific, have entertained very 
conflicting opinions as to its general character ; some regard- 
ing it as epizootic, others as contagious ; some attributing it 
to atmospheric influence, others to foulings in the stable or 
yard. Others, again, attribute it to freezing of the feet in 
winter. Cattle-doctors in a majority of cases, fail to cure it. 
I have, however, by a simple course of treatment, effected 



230 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

many signal cures. Some parlies are so confident of the 
contagious character of the disease that they refuse to drive 
cattle along a road where it is known to exist. They even, 
oftentimes, wash their boots previous to entering their barn- 
yards, after walking over the ground where such diseased 
cattle have been running. 

" Caution is both proper and commendable. I do not, 
however, regard it as a contagious disease, nor can it be 
transmitted by inoculation. The calf is carried during the 
progress of the disease, and delivered in apparently good 
health. The milk of the cow appears to be unaffected and 
harmless. I call this disease sphacial fever, or gangrenous 
fever. 

" The ergot, or spur of the hay, is confined to the June grass, 
as far as my observation extends ; owing, probably, to its early 

matu- 




THE MAD BULL. 

have matured sufficiently to produce the spur, 
picious of the foulness of the feed before I examined any 
hay, and have found the spur in the hay wherever the diesase 
is found. 

" Mr. Sanford, of Edinburgh, Ohio, purchased one half of 



EPIZOOTICS. 231 

a mow of hay from Mr. Bassett, of Randolph, which was 
removed to his farm in Randolph, eight miles distant. Of 
this hay, Mr. Sanford fed eleven cows some six or eight 
weeks. Mr. Bassett had been feeding the same to four cows. 
At about the same time, both heads began to show lameness. 
I visited Mr. S. after he had lost six cows, and examined the 
remaining five, four of which were lame and the other 
showed symptoms of the disease. He had two other cows, 
one of which was loaned to a neighbor, and the other was 
fed upon different hay, for convenience. The loaned cow 
was returned about the first of March, — the two then run- 
ning with the ailing ones until the 24th of April, when I 
saw them sound and in good health. 

" I then visited Mr. Bassett's stock, which I found infected 
with the same disease, — he having lost one, and the remain- 
ing three being lame, and much debilitated. The hoofs were 
sloughing off. Some of the same hay remained in the snow, 
which, upon examination, exhibited an abundance of the 
spur. Upon inquiry, I found that no such disease existed 
between the two farms, or in the neighborhood of either 
Mr. S. or Mr. B. The peculiarity of this circumstance at 
once swept away the last vestige of doubt from my mind. 
Mr. E. Chapman, of Rootstown, accompanied me, and can 
vouch for the correctness of tlgese statements. 

" He hooted at my opinions, asserting that he understood 
the disease, and that it was caused by the freezing of the 
feet. He has since, however, abandoned that idea, and 
honestly 'acknowledged the corn.' This ergot is regarded by 
some as a parasitic fungus, formed in other grains, an abun- 
dant vegeto-animal substance, and much disposed to putrefac- 



232 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

tion. "We appear to be in the dark regarding its real 
composition. The little which has been written upon the 
subject, appears to be founded upon hypothesis, and that the 
most obscure. The articles to which I refer may differ in 
quality or property to a considerable extent, and we may 
forever remain in the dark, unless chemical investigation be 
instituted. 

" In this particular disease, there appears to be singularity 
in the symptoms through all its various stages, which is 
likely to originate in the peculiarity of the cause which 
produces them. The effects and symptoms arising from the 
continued use of the ergot of rye, as manifested in the 
human system, have been but briefly hinted at by authors, 
and, probably, some of them are only reasonable conjectures. 
All they say is, that it produces violent headache, spalla- 
tion in the extremities, and death. Hitherto, its effects upon 
the inferior animal have been subjected to no investigation, 
and its peculiarity in the symptoms, differing from like 
phenonema by other causes, may yet be demonstrated. I 
am not alone in my opinion of this disease. I have taken 
counsel of those whose judgment cannot be questioned. 
Whatever difference of opinion exists is attributable to a want 
of investigation, and it will continue to exist until this 
singular phenonemon is clearly accounted for. Every opinion 
should be thoroughly criticized till facts are obtained. Every 
man's opinion is sacred to himself, but we should yield to 
conviction. 

" Two classes of this disease are exhibited : one, of irrita- 
tion, and the other, of debility ; one, an acute, the other, a 
chronic form. The point at which it assumes the chronic 



epizootics. 233 

form is between conjestion and gangrene. By close ob- 
servation we can discover these to be different and higher 
degrees of the same disease. All subsequent degrees are 
dependent upon the first. 

"The first symptom, or degree, is, probably, an attack 
upon the systematic circulation, produced by a certain 
medicinal and deleterious property existing in the ergot, and 
communicated to the blood through the absorption of the 
tongue. This is more evident from the fact that the 
digestive organs retain their normal condition till the last 
stages of the chronic form. The blood in the first two 
stages is healthy, and the peculiar influence is only apparent 
in the subsequent stages ; as evidenced by the fact that the 
muscles and general good appearance, as well as life itself, 
last longer than could be possible, if this deleterious in- 
fluence were exhausted upon the digestive organs and the 
blood, in its first stages. And, as we suppose that fever and 
congestion constitute an attack upon the red blood, which is 
exhibited by hurried pulsation, we might rationally infer that 
the next degree would be gangrene of the globule, causing 
sloughing, the same as if it were carried to the muscles, or 
surface. This sloughing of the globule would be the same 
as if exhibited on any other part of the organization, for the 
fibrin is identical with muscle, as albumen is identical with 
the white of an egg ; and since congestion is the forerunner 
of gangrene at the extremities, or on the surface, so fever 
and quick pulsation are the forerunners of congestion of the 
blood. Gangrene cannot ensue without obstruction in the 
blood-vessels ; and congestion cannot take place without 
obstruction in that which sustains the globule. As gangrene, 



234 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

then, is the first stage of decomposition of animal matter, 
so is congestion the first stage of decomposition of the 
globule ; and as mortification is death in the organized body, 
so is congestion death in the organized globule. 

"It appears evident that this disease, in all its forms and 
degrees of intensity, seeks vent or release; in other words, 
Nature conflicting with it, throws it off its track, or balance, 
and offers means of escape, or shows it a door by which it 
may make its exit. In the first stage of the disease, the 
dermoid (skin) tissues make the effort. In the inflammatory, 
the serous, and the congestive, the mucous gangrene seeks 
vent ; if obtained, mortification is prevented ; if not, mortifi- 
cation directly supervenes, and death terminates the case. 

"In the case to which I refer, observation confirms my 
opinion that absolute mortification without vent determines 
the gangrene of the blood, and is hardly curable ; but that 
gangrene's finding vent determines it to be curable, and the 
recovery highly probable." 



EPIZOOTIC CATAEEH. 

Catarrh frequently assumes an epizootic form of a very 
virulent character, originating spontaneously and extending 
over a large section of country at or about the same time. 
A cold spring succeeding a mild winter, is peculiarly pro- 
ductive of malignant catarrh. This is one of the most dis- 
tressing and fatal diseases to which cattle are subject. 

Symptoms.- — The animal appears dull, and unwilling to 
move about, staggering when forced to do so ; obstinate 
costiveness is usually one of the earliest symptoms, succeeded 
by diarrhoea, which is equally difficult of management ; some- 



EPIZOOTIC CATARRH. 235 

times, however, diarrhoea is present from the first ; tne animal 
loses flesh rapidly ; the coat is staring ; appetite is lost ; 
tumors form about the head, neck, back, and joints, which 
appear to be filled with air, and upon pressure cause a crepi- 
tating sound ; saliva flows from the mouth, becoming very- 
fetid as the disease progresses. The animal always dies of 
putrefaction. 

Treatment. — This disease should be treated early, or not at 
all. Good nursing is very essential. When costiveness is 
present, give Barbadoes aloes, one ounce ; croton-oil, ten 
drops ; mix together ; or give one pint of linseed-oil, to which 
add from ten to twenty drops of castor-oil. If the bowels 
are not open in twenty-four hours, give four ounces of 
sulphate of magnesia every six hours until they are opened. 
Follow this with tincture of aconite, ten drops in water, every 
four hours, until the fever has abated. 

Bleeding has been recommended by some writers ; but the 
author has failed to experience any benefit from resorting to 
it, but, on the contrary, has seen much injury result from the 
use — or, rather, the abuse — of the lancet. He is, indeed, 
inclined to attribute much of the fatality attending this 
disease to indiscriminate blood-letting. 

When much debility exists, the animal should be sustained 
by tonics and stimulants. One ounce of nitric ether and half 
an ounce of tincture of opium, given in a little water, will be 
found beneficial. It should be given twice a day. Pulver- 
ized gentian-root, one ounce ; Jamaica ginger, half an ounce ; 
pulverized cloves, half an ounce ; mixed, and divided into 
four powders, one to be given at night and at morning ; will 
be found useful, in place of the opium and ether. 



286 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

FAEDEL. 

This disease is properly known by the name of clue-bound. 
The manyplus, or omasum (third stomach), frequently be- 
comes so choked up with food that it is hard and dry, and 
the operation of the digestive organs is very seriously im- 
paired. The animal eats voraciously, for a time, but stops 
suddenly and trembles; the countenance assumes a peculiarly 
haggard appearance ; there is a wild expression of the eye ; 
a foaming at the mouth ; a tendency to pitch forward, and at 
times a falling head-foremost to the ground. Occasionally, 
the symptoms are very active, speedily terminating in death. 
There are few diseases of a constitutional character in which 
the stomach is not, more or less, sympathetically involved. 

"Toward the end of September, 1146, a great number of 
cows died at Osterwich, in the principality of Halberstadt. 
Lieberkuhn, a celebrated physician,— there were no vete- 
rinary surgeons at that time,— was sent to examine into the 
nature of the disease, which was supposed to be one of the 
species of murrain that was then committing such ravages 
among the cattle in various parts of the Continent. There 
were none of the tumors, or pestilential buboes, that, in an 
earlier or later period of the malady, usually accompanied 
and characterized murrain ; but upon inspection of the dead 
bodies, considerable peritoneal inflammation was found ; the 
first and second stomachs were filled with food, but the third 
stomach was the palpable seat of the disease ; its leaves were 
black and gangrened. The mass contained between the 
leaves was black, dry, and so hard that it could scarcely be 
cut with a scalpel. It intercepted the passage of the food 



FOUL IN THE FOOT — GARGET. 23 1 

from the first two stomachs to the fourth ; and this latter 
stomach was empty and much inflamed. Neither the heart, 
nor the lungs, nor the intestines exhibited any trace of 
disease. Twelve cows were opened, and the appearances 
were nearly the same in all of them." 

Treatment— Give one and a half pounds of Epsom-salts, 
dissolved in three pints of water ; or one quart of potash, 
three times daily, dissolved in water, will be found useful in 
this disease 



FOUL IE" THE FOOT. 

This is caused by hard or irritating substances making 
their way in between the claws of the foot, causing inflam- 
mation, and sometimes ulceration, in the 'parts. The pas- 
terns swell, and the animal becomes lame. 

The foot should be thoroughly washed, and all foreign 
substances removed. A pledget of tow, saturated with tar 
and sprinkled with powdered sulphate of copper, should be 
inserted between the claws. This usually requires but one 
or two applications. 

GARGET. 

This is a hard, knotty condition of the udder, which 
sometimes follows calving, in consequence of the sudden 
distention of the bag with milk; and the inflammation which 
supervenes causes a congealed or coagulated condition of the 
milk to take place, of which, if neglected, suppuration and 
abscesses are the result. 

Treatment— Lei the calf suck the dam as speedily as 
possible, and, if the hardness is not then removed, foment 



238 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

the udder with warm water ; after which, wipe it dry, and 
apply to the entire surface melted lard as hot as the animal 
will bear./ This is, generally, all that is required, the most 
obstinate cases yielding to it. If abscesses form, they should 
be lanced. » 



ChASTRO-EETTEKITIS. 

This disease — otherwise known as wood-evil, or moor-ill — 
arises from eating the buds of oak, young ash, and other 
trees, which are of a very highly stimulating or irritating 
character. As the intestinal canal is liable to inflammatory 
action from irritant substances admitted into it, animals are 
found to become diseased from eating too freely of these 
vegetable substances, 

Symptoms. — Loss of appetite and suspended rumina- 
tion ; mouth hot ; skin dry ; pulse from sixty to seventy ; 
swelling and pain of the belly ; obstinate constipation ; faeces 
hard and covered with blood ; urine of a strong odor, highly 
colored, and voided with difficulty. 

Treatment— The animal should be bled, and a strong 
purgative administered, followed by aconite and belladonna, 
as in enteritis. Injections of Castile-soap and water should 
be freely used ; the application of the mustard, hartshorn, 
and water to the belly will also be found very beneficial. 



HOOSE. 

This disease — known also as catarrh — is occasionally the 
sequence of coryza, but more frequently it arises from an 
impure atmosphere ; consequently, in cow-houses where 
animals are crowded together in numbers,, it is most frequently 



hoove. 239 

found. Scanty provender, and of an inferior quality, is 
among the exciting causes of boose, producing, as it does, 
a debilitated state of the system, which, upon exposure of 
the animal to cold, or wet, hastens the disorder. Some 
breeds of cattle are peculiarly liable to this disease, which, 
if not arrested in its early stage, runs on, involving the lungs, 
and frequently terminating in consumption. Of all our 
domestic animals, neat cattle are most subject to pulmonary 
diseases. This is attributable to the neglect and exposure 
which are far too often their lot. Butchers will testify that 
a large portion of all cattle slaughtered have abscesses and 
other diseases of the lungs. 

Symptoms. — Loss of appetite ; muzzle dry ; coat rough, 
or staring ; respiration quickened ; horns hot ; ears, nose, 
and legs cold ; husky cough ; pulse from sixty to seventy, 
small and thready ; bowels frequently constipated. 

Treatment. — Give one ounce of the following powders 
every six hours, until the bowels are opened : Barbadoes 
aloes, one and half ounces ; nitrate of potassa, half an 
ounce ; ginger, six drachms ; mix and divide into six pow- 
ders. Setons in the dewlap are often of great benefit. 



HOOVE. 

Hoove, or blown, so common, and often so speedily fatal in 
cattle, is the result of fermentation in the rumen, or paunch, 
in consequence of the animal's having eaten large quantities 
of wet grass, luxuriant clover, turnips, etc. An accumula- 
tion of gas is the result of this fermentation, which greatly 
disturbs the haunch and left side of the belly, causing much 
pain to the animal, and frequently threatening suffocation. 



240 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Treatment.— Drench the animal with one ounce of spirits 
of hartshorn in one quart of water, the object being to neut- 
ralize the gas which is present in the rumen ; or, two ounces 
of table salt dissolved in one quart of water will be found 
very effectual. If these do not speedily give relief, an active 
purge should be given. Injections of soap and water should 
be freely used. If the case still proves obstinate, and the 
life of the animal is threatened, the paunch should be punc- 
tured. For this purpose, the trochar — an instrument spec- 
ially adapted — should be used ; but, in the absence of an 
instrument, an ordinary pocket-knife may be employed, taking 
care not to make a large opening. The proper point to operate 
is midway between the last rib and the prominent point of 
the hip-bone, about twelve inches from the centre of the back 
or loins. Few cases have a fatal termination where this 
operation has been properly performed. 



HYDATIDS. 

Worms in the brain occasionally occur, causing great un- 
easiness to the animal and generally proving fatal. 

The symptoms are, loss of appetite ; suspended rumina- 
tion ; a fevered condition of the system ; horns and ears hot ; 
respiration disturbed ; coat staring, etc. No course of treat- 
ment will prove efficacious in this disease. 

Pressure on the brain may occur from an accumulation of 
water, tumors, bruises, etc., in the cranial case. In either 
case, the same effects are produced as are observed in apo- 
plexy. 



INFLAMMATION OP THE BLADDER AND THE HAW. 241 
INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 

Inflammation of the bladder generally accompanies in- 
flammation of the kidneys, though it is sometimes found 
disconnected and alone. It is occasionally caused by calcu- 
lous concretions in the bladder, — which should be removed, — • 
causing very acute abdominal pain to the animal. She 
makes frequent efforts to stale, passing but a few drops of 
urine at a time. The pulse is full and rapid ; mouth clammy ; 
nose dry ; eyes bloodshot ; appetite lost ; moaning, and walk- 
ing with a staggering gait. 

Treatment. — Inject into the bladder one quart of tepid 
water, and from one to two ounces of tincture of opium 
mixed together. Give internally one of the following powders 
every hour until relieved ; nitrate of potassa, one ounce ; 
tartrate of antimony, and pulverized digitalis leaves, each 
one drachm ; mix, and divide into six powders. Mucilagin- 
ous draughts should be freely given. 

Rupture of the bladder sometimes occurs, but there are no 
symptoms by which it may be known ; and, if there were, no 
service could be rendered in the way of repairing the injury ; 
the animal must die. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE HAW. 

The ox, like the horse, has a membrane of semilunar form 
in the inner corner of the eye, which is capable of being 
thrown over the entire eyeball, for the purpose of cleansing 
the eye from any foreign substance which may get into it. 
This membrane is commonly called the haw, and is suscepti- 

16 



242 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

ble of attacks of inflammation, which cause it to swell, 
frequently even closing up the eye. 

Treatment. — Give a dose of physic, and, if the animal is 
plethoric, extract a little blood from the vein on the same 
side as the affected eye. Apply to the eye either of the 
following washes : tincture of opium, one ounce ; rain-water, 
one pint ; or, tincture of aconite, one drachm, to one pint of 
water. Bathe two or three times a day. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEY'S. 

This disease — sometimes called nephritis — occurs occasion- 
ally in cattle in consequence of their eating bad or unwhole- 
some food, or of the abuse of diuretics, etc. 

The symptoms are very insidious in their approach. The 
loins are very tender upon pressure ; the urine is voided in 
small quantities. As the disease advances, the symptoms 
become more marked and acute. The animal is dull, and 
feeds daintily ; the evacuation of urine is attended with in- 
creased pain, and the urine is highly colored and bloody ; the 
nose is dry ; the horns, ears, and extremities are cold ; respi- 
ration hurried ; the pulse full, hard, and throbbing. 

Treatment. — Give one pint of linseed-oil and ten drops of 
castor-oil, mixed together; follow this with small doses of 
salts once a day, for three or four days ; give injections of 
water, one half a gallon to two ounces of tincture of arnica. 
Mustard applications to the loins are also very useful. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVEK. 

Diseases of the liver are of very common occurrence, — a 
fact with which all beef-butchers are familiar. Perhaps no 



LARYNGITIS. 243 

organ in the animal economy is so liable to disease. The 
obscurity of the symptoms and the good condition of the 
animal prevent its discovery, as a general thing, during its 
lifetime. When, however, the disease assumes an active 
form, — known as the yellows, jaundice, or inflammation of 
the liver, — the symptoms are more readily detected.. 

Symptoms. — A yellowish color of the eye will be observed ; 
skin, urine, etc., highly colored ; soreness, on pressure, on 
the right side ; loss of appetite ; dullness ; constipation of the 
bowels, etc. 

Treatment. — Calomel is the most reliable medicine known 
to practitioners for diseases of the liver. Its abuse, however, 
has brought it into disrepute. Yet, as with ordinary care it 
may be advantageously used, we will prescribe it as that 
upon which the most dependence is to be placed, and in 
doing so, will endeavor to have it used safely. Bleeding has 
been recommended : but the author has never found any 
benefit resulting. Give Epsom-salts, in doses of four ounces 
each, every night, with one scruple of calomel, until the 
animal is relieved. Mustard and water should be frequently 
applied to the right side, and well rubbed in. 



LARYNGITIS. 

This disease is of rare occurrence in cattle. In it, the 
mucous membrane lining the larynx is in a very irritable 
condition ; the least pressure upon the parts affected causes 
intensely excruciating pain ; the respiration becomes quick, 
painful, and laborious ; the animal often appears to be hun- 
gry* J e ^ does not eat much, in consequence of the pain 
occasioned by the act of swallowing. 



244 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Treatment.— Apply to the throat externally strong mustard, 
mixed, with equal parts Of aqua ammonia and water, to a thin 

JUHlfaL paste, every hour, 
until it produces 
an effect upon the 
skin ; sponging 
the parts each 
time with warm 
water before ap- 

AN ABERDEENSHIRE POLLED BULL. plj m g the IHUS- 

tard. The animal should not be bled. Give upon the 
tongue, or in drink, half-drachn) doses of nitrate of potassa, 
every three or four hours, until relief is obtained. If suffo- 
cation threatens, the operation of tracheotomy is the only 
resort. 

Cloths saturated with cold water, wrapped around the 
neck so as to cover the larynx, frequently afford relief. A 
purgative will also be found useful. 




LICE. 

Cattle are very subject to lice, particularly when they are 
neglected, half-starved, and in poor condition. Good care 
and good feeding — in connection with the treatment recom- 
mended in mange, to which the reader is referred— will com- 
prise all that is requisite. 



MANGE. 

Mange, or leprosy, is one of the most unpleasant and diffi- 
cult diseases to manage of all the ailments to which cattle 
are subject requiring the nicest care and attention to render 



MANGE. 245 

it easy of cure. An animal badly nursed will not, under the 
most skillful treatment, quickly recover. Its causes are, in 
the main, due to poor food, which produces a debilitated con- 
dition of the system, and in connection with a want of 
cleanliness, causes a development of the acari, or minute 
insects, exciting very great irritation upon the skin and caus- 
ing the cow to rub herself against every object with which 
she comes in contact. The hair falls off; a scurfy appear- 
ance of the skin is perceptible ; and the animal is poor in 
condition and in milk. The great trouble in treating this 
disease springs from its contagious character; for, no sooner 
is the animal, oftentimes, once free from the acari than it 
comes in contact with some object against whicli it has pre- 
viously been rubbing, when the acari which wore left upon 
that object are again brought in contact wiii the animal, 
and the disease is reproduced. If, immediately after the 
proper applications are made, the animal is removed to other 
quarters, and not allowed to return to the former ones for 
six or eight weeks, there is, generally, speaking, but little 
trouble in treating the disease. 

Take the animal upon a warm, sunny day, and with a 
scrubbing-brush cleanse the skin thoroughly with Castile- 
soap and water ; when dry, apply in the same manner the 
following mixture ; white hellebore, one ounce ; sulphur 
flower, three ounces ; gas-water, one quart ; mix all well 
together. One or two applications are, generally, all that 
will be required. Give internally one of the following pow- 
ders in the feed, night and morning : flowers of sulphur, 
two ounces ; black antimony, one ounce : nitrate of potassa, 
one ounce ; mix, and divide into eight powders. 



246 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

MURRAIN. 

This is one of the most malignant diseases to which cattle 
are liable. Fortunately, however, true murrain is compara- 
i tively rare in this great stock-raising country. 

The entire system seems to partake of the disease. The 
i/irst indication of its approach is a feverish condition of the 
s\ ^stem, attended with a frequent and painful cough ; the 
pi ilse is small, hard, and rapid. As the disease advances, 
thi e respiration becomes disturbed ; the flanks heave ; vesicu- 
lar eruption is observed upon the teats, mouth, and feet ; the 
hoi 'ns are cold ; the animal is sometimes lame ; constipation 
and, some-tin, aes, diarrhoea are accompanying symptoms ; 
fceces black and fetid; the eyes weep and become much 
swollen ; great tenderness along the spine ; a brown or 
bloody discharge from the nose and mouth ; the animal 
moans incessantly, grinds his teeth, rarely lies down, but to 
get up again quickly ; finally, the breath becomes very offen- 
sive ; tumors make their appearance in various parts of the 
body, which, in favorable cases, suppurate, and discharge a 
fetid matter. 

Treatment. — Give pne fourth of a pound of Epsom-salts, 
with one drachm of Jamaica ginger, twice a day, for two or 
three days. A bottle, of porter, twice a day, will be found 
serviceable) Yery lititle medicine is required internally in 
this disease', but much depends upon good nursing. Exter- 
nal applications are chiefly to be depended upon. < A solu- 
tion of chloride of limb should be applied to the eruptions, 
or a solution of the chloride of zinc, twenty grains to an 
ounce of water; or, o? sulphate of zinc, two drachms to a 



NAVEL-ILL— OBSTRUCTIONS IN GULLET. 24? 

pint of water ; or pulverized charcoal applied to the parts 
will be found useful. 



NAVEL-ILL- 

Inflammation of the navel in calves occasionally occurs, 
causing redness, pain, and sudden swelling in the part affected. 
This disease, if not promptly attended to, speedily carries off 
the creature. 

Treatment— Foment the part well with warm hop-tea ; 
after which, the application of a cloth, well saturated with 
lead-water and secured by bandages, should be applied. In- 
ternally, doses of Epsom-salts, of two ounces each, dissolved 
in half a pint of water, should be given until the bowels are 
acted upon. After the inflammation has subsided, to coun- 
teract the weakness which may follow, give a bottle of porter 
two or three times a day. 



OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE (ESOPHAGUS. 

Choking in cattle is of common occurrence, in consequence 
of turnips, potatoes, carrots, or other hard substances, be- 
coming lodged in the oesophagus, or gullet. 

These obstructions can sometimes be removed by careful 
manipulations with the hand ; but, where this can not be 
accomplished, the flexible probang should be employed. 
This is a long India-rubber tube, with a whalebone stillet 
running through it, so as to stiffen it when in use. This 
instrument is passed down the animal's throat, and the 
offending substance is thus pushed down into the stomach. 



248 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

OPEN JOINTS. 

Opening of the joint generally results from accidents, from 
puncturing with sharp substances, from kicks, blows, etc. 
These injuries cause considerable nervous irritation in the 
system, and sometimes cause lock-jaw and death. 

Treatment. — Close up the wound as speedily as possible. 
The firing-iron will sometimes answer the purpose very well. 
The author depends more upon the application of collodion — 
as recommended in his work upon " The Horse and His 
Diseases" for the same trouble — than upon any other remedy. 
It requires care in its application, in order to make it adhere 
firmly. Shoemakers'- wax, melted and applied, answers a very 
good purpose. 

PAKTUKITION. 

In natural labor — as has been suggested in a former part 
of this work — the aid of man is rarely required in bringing 
away the calf. But it not infrequently happens that, from 
malformation or wrong presentation, our assistance is re- 
quired in order to deliver the animal. 

The brute force, which has been far too often heretofore 
resorted to, should no longer be tolerated, since the lives of 
many valuable animals have been sacrificed by such treat- 
ment. Yery often, by gentle manipulation with the greased 
hand, the womb can be so dilated as to afford a comparatively 
easy exit for the foetus. 

If, however, the calf is presented wrong, it must be pushed 
back and placed in its proper position, if possible. In 
natural labor, the fore-legs, with the head lying between 



PARTURITION. 249 

them, are presented ; in which position — unless deformity, 
either in the pelvis of the cow, or in the foetus, exists — the 
calf is passed with little difficulty, and without assistance. 
It sometimes happens that the head of the foetus is turned 
backward. When this happens, the attendant should at 
once strip himself to the waist, bathe his arms and hands 
with a little sweet-oil, or lard, and introduce them into the 
vagina, placing a cord around both fore-feet, and then, 
pushing them back, search for the head, which is to be 
brought forward to its proper position. The feet are next to 
be brought up with it. No force should be used, except 
when the cow herself makes the effort to expel the calf; 
otherwise, more harm than good may be done. 

A case of this kind recently occurred in the author's 
practice, being the third within a year. The subject was a 
cow belonging to William Hance, Esq., of Bordentown, New 
Jersey. After she had been in labor for some twenty hours, 
he was called upon to see her. Upon inquiry, he found that 
several persons had been trying, without success, to relieve 
her. ' She was very much prostrated, and would, doubtless, 
have died within two or three hours, had no relief been 
afforded. The legs of the foetus protruded as far as the 
knees ; the head was turned backward, and with the body, 
pressed firmly into the vagina, so that it was impossible to 
return it, or to bring the head forward. The operation of 
embryotomy was, therefore, at once performed, by cutting 
away the right shoulder, which enabled the operator, with 
the aid of his appropriate hooks, to bring the head forward, 
when the calf came away without further trouble, — the whole 
operation not requiring fifteen minutes. The uterus was 



250 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

then washed out, and the animal placed in as comfortable a 
position as possible, and a stimulating draught given, com- 
posed of two ounces of nitric ether, one ounce of tincture of 
opium, and a half pint of water. This was followed with a 
few doses of Fleming's tincture of aconite, ten drops in a 
little water, every few hours. In a few days the animal had 
entirely recovered. 

Occasionally, the head comes first, or the head and one 
leg. In such cases, a cord should be slipped around the jaw 
and leg, and these then pushed back, so as to allow the other 
leg to be brought up. When this cannot be done, the foetus 
can, in most cases, be removed in the original position. 

Breech, side, back, and other presentations sometimes 
occur ; in all of which instances, the foetus must be turned 
in such a position that it can be brought away with as little 
trouble as possible. When this cannot be accomplished, the 
only resort is embryotomy, or cutting up of the foetus, 
which operation can only be safely performed by the quali- 
fied veterinary surgeon. 

Since writing the above, another case has occurred in the 
author's practice. The cow — belonging to Samuel Barton, 
Esq., near Bordentown, New Jersey — had been in labor some 
eighteen hours; upon an examination of the animal, the 
calf was found to be very much deformed, presenting back- 
wards, — one of the hind-legs having been pulled off by the 
person or persons assisting her previous to the author's 
arrival. Finding it impossible to deliver her in the usual 
way, emrbyotomy was in this instance employed. By this 
means, after taking out the intestines, lungs, etc., of the 
foetus, and cutting away its hind-quarters, the fore-parts 



PARTURITION. 251 

were brought away. The head presented a singular appear- 
ance ; the under jaw was so twisted as to bring the front 
teeth on the side of' the face ; the spinal column or back- 
bone, was turned twice around, resembling a spiral string ; 
the front legs were over the back ; the ribs were much con- 
torted ; the hind-parts were as much deformed ; and, taken 
altogether, the deformity was the most singular which- has 
been brought under the author's observation. 

Free Martins. — It has long been supposed by stock- 
breeders, that if a cow produce twins, one of which is a 
male and the other a female, the female is incapable of pro- 
ducing young, but that the male may be a useful animal for 
breeding purposes. Many instances have occurred when 
the twin sister of a bull has never shown the least desire for 
the male. 

This indifference to sexual commerce arises, doubtless, from 
the animal's being but imperfectly developed in the organs 
of generation. This fact has been established by the investi- 
gations of Mr. John Hunter, who had three of these animals 
slaughtered for anatomical examination. The result is thus 
reported : " The external parts were rather smaller than is 
customary in the cow. The vagina passed on, as in the cow, 
to the opening of the urethra, and then it began to contract 
into a small canal, which passed on into the division of the 
uterus into the two horns ; each horn passed along the edge 
of the broad ligament laterally toward the ovaria. 

" At the termination of these horns were placed both the 
ovaries and the testicles. Both were nearly of the same 
size, which was about as large as a small nutmeg. To the 
ovaria, I could not find any Fallopian tube. 



252 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

"To the testicles were vasa deferentia, but the} r were im- 
perfect. The left one did not come near the testicle ; the 
right one only came close to it, but did not terminate in the 
body called the epididymis. They were both pervious and 
opened into the vagina, near the opening of the urethra. 

" On the posterior surface of the bladder, or between the 
uterus and the bladder, were the two bags, called vesiculce semi- 
nales in the male, but much smaller than they are in the bull. 
The ducts opened along with the vasa deferentia. This animal, 
then, had a mixture of all the parts, but all of them were im- 
perfect. " 

Well-authenticated cases have, however, occurred where 
the female has bred, and the offspring proved to be good 
milkers. There are several instances on record of cows' giv- 
ing birth to three, four, and even five calves at a time. There 
were on exhibition, in 1862, at Bordentown, New Jersey, 
three free martins, two sisters and a brother, which were 
beautiful animals. These were from a cow belonging to Mr, 
Joab Mershon, residing on Biles Island, situated in the 
Delaware River, a short distance above Bordentown. They 
were calved November 1st, 1858, and were therefore nearly 
four years of age. They had never shown the least desire 
for copulation. Their aggregate weight was 4300 pounds. 

We extract the following from the London Veterinarian, 
for 1854 :- — "A cow, belonging to Mr. John Marshall, of Rep- 
ton, on Wednesday last, gave birth to five, live healthy calves, 
all of which are, at the time I write, alive and vigorous, and 
have every appearance of continuing so. They are all nearly 
of a size, and are larger and stronger than could be supposed. 
Four of them are bull-calves. 



PARTURITION. 253 

" The dam is by no means a large one, is eleven years old, 
of a mongrel breed, and has never produced more than one 
offspring at any previous gestation. I saw her two clays 
after she had calved, at which time she was ruminating, and 
did not manifest any unusual symptoms of exhaustion. I 
may mention that the first four calves presented naturally ; 
the fifth was a breech-presentation." 

Cleansing. — The placenta, or after-birth, by which the 
foetus is nourished while in embryo, should be removed soon 
after calving. Generally, it will come away without any 
assistance. This is what is called "cleansing after calving." 
When, however, it remains for some time, its function having 
been performed, it becomes a foreign body, exciting uterine 
contractions, and therefore injurious. The sooner, then, it is 
removed, the better for the animal as well as the owner. To 
accomplish this, the hand should be introduced, and, by 
pulling gently in various directions, it will soon yield and 
come away. Should it be allowed to remain, it rapidly 
decomposes, producing a low, feverish condition of the 
system, which greatly interferes with the general health of 
the animal. 

Inversion or the Uterus. — The uterus is sometimes turned 
inside out after calving. This is, generally, the result of 
debility, or severe labor. The uterus should be replaced as 
carefully as possible with the hands, care being taken that no 
dirt, straw, or other foreign substance adheres to it. Should 
it again be expelled, it would be advisable to quiet the sj^stem 
by the use of an anesthetic, as chloroform, or — which is much 
safer — chloric ether. As soon as the animal is under the 
influence of this, the uterus may be again replaced- The 



254 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

hind-quarters should be raised as high as possible, in order to 
favor its retention. The animal should have a little gruel 
and a bottle of porter given to her every five or six hours, 
and the vulva should be bathed frequently with eold water. 



PHEENITIS. 

Inflammation of the brain is one of those dreadful diseases 
to which all animals are liable. It is known to the farmer as 
frenzy, mad staggers, etc. 

The active symptoms are preceded by stupor ; the animal 
stubbornly stands in one position ; the eyes are full, red, and 
fiery j respiration rapid ; delirium soon succeeds ; the animal, 
bellowing, dashes wildly about, and seems bent on mischief, 
rushing madly at every object which comes in its way. 

The causes of this disease are overwork in warm weather, 
a plethoric condition of the system, and too stimulating food. 
Prof. Gamgee, of the Edinburgh Veterinary College, relates 
a case resulting from the presence within the external meatus 
of a mass of concrete cerumen, or wax, which induced in- 
flammation of the ear, extending to the brain. 

Treatment. — As this is attended with considerable risk, 
unless it is taken prior to the frenzied stage, bleeding almost 
\to fainting should be resorted to, and followed by a brisk 
phrge. Take one ounce of Barbadoes aloes, and ten to fifteen 
droops of Ooton-oil ; mix the aloes with one pint of water and 
the on\ using the mixture as a drench. One pound of Epsom- 
salts willl answer the purpose very well, in cases where the 
aloes andi oil cannot be readily obtained. Application of 
bags of brdiken ice to the head, is very beneficial. Spirits of 
turpentine, oV mustard, together with spirits of hartshorn and 



PLEURISY. 255 

water should be well rubbed in along the spine, from the 
neck to the tail. 

PLEURISY. 

This is an inflammation of the pleura, or the serous 
membrane which lines the canity of the chest, and which is 
deflected over the lungs. Inflammation of this membrane 
rarely occurs in a pure form, but is more generally associated 
with inflammation of the tissue of the lungs. If this disease 
is not attended to at an early period, its usual termination is 
in hydrothorax, or dropsy of the chest. The same causes 
which produce inflammation of the lungs, of the bronchia, 
and of the other respiratory organs, produce also pleurisy. 

Symptoms.-— The respiration is quick, short, and painful ; 
pressure between the ribs produces much pain ; a low, short, 
painful cough is present ; the respiratory murmur is much 
diminished, — in fact, it is scarcely audible. This condition is 
rapidly followed by effusion, which may be detected from the 
dullness of the sounds, on applying the ear to the lower part 
of the lungs. The febrile symptoms disappear ; the animal 
for a few days appears to improve, but soon becomes weak, 
languid, and often exhausted from the slightest exertion. 

Treatment. — The same treatment in the early stage is 
enjoined as in inflammatory pneumonia, which the reader 
will consult — counter-irritation and purgatives. Bleeding 
never should be resorted to. When effusion takes place, it 
is necessary to puncture the sides with a trochar, and draw 
away the fluid, giving internally one of the following purges 
three times a day : rosin, eight ounces ; saltpetre, two ounces : 
mix, and divide into eight powders. Half-drachm doses of 



256 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



the iodide of potash, dissolved in water, to be given three 
times daily, will be found useful in this disease. 



PLEUBO-PNEUMOITIA. 

This disease, as its name implies, is an inflammatory con- 
dition of the lungs and the pleura, or the enveloping mem- 
brane of the lungs and the lining membrane of the chest. It 
is sometimes called contagious, infectious, and epizootic 
pleuro-pneumonia, — contagious or infectious, from its sup- 
posed property of transmission from the diseased to the 
healthy animal. 

A contagious character the author is not ready to assign 
to it, — contagious, as he understands it, being strictly applica- 
ble to those diseases which depend upon actual contact with 
the poison that it may be communicated from one animal to 

s== another. This 
does not ne- 
^/^H| cessarily im- 
jjj;, ply the actual 
^== touching of 
the animals 
themselves; 
for it may be 
communi- 
cated from the 
poison left in 

the trough, or other places where the diseased animal has 
been brought in contact with some object, as is often the 
case in glanders in the horse ; the matter discharged from 
the nose, and left upon the manger, readily communicating 




TAKING AN OBSERVATION. 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 25 f 

that disease to healthy animals coming in contact with it. 
Contagious diseases, therefore, travel very slowly, starting, 
as they do, at one point, and gradually spreading over a large 
district, or section of country. 

This disease is, however, regarded by the author as infec- 
tious ; by which term is meant that it is capable of being 
communicated from the diseased to the healthy aDimal 
through the medium of the air, which has become contami- 
nated by the exhalations of poisonous matter. The ability 
to inoculate other animals in this way is necessarily confined 
to a limited space, sometimes not extending more than a few 
yards. Infectious diseases, accordingly, spread with more 
rapidity than contagious ones, and are, consequently, more 
to be dreaded ; since we can avoid the one with compara- 
tively little trouble, while the other often steals upon us 
when we regard ourselves as beyond its influence, carrying 
death and destruction in its course. 

The term by which this disease is known, is a misnomer. . 
Pleuro-pneumonia proper is neither a contagious, nor an 
infectious disease ; hence, the denial of medical men that this 
so-called pleuro-pneumonia is a contagious, or infectious 
disease, has been the means of unnecessarily exposing many 
animals to its poisonous influence. 

In the Recueil de Medecine Veterinaire, for 1833, will be 
found a very interesting description of this fatal malady. 
The author, M. Lecoy, Assistant Professor at the Yeterinary 
School of Lyons, France, says : " There are few districts in 
the arrondissement of Avesnes where more cattle are fattened 
than in that of Soire-le-Chateau. The farmers being unable 
to obtain a sufficient supply of cattle in the district, are 
17 



258 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

obliged to purchase the greater part of them from othei 
provinces; and they procure a great number for grazing 
from Franche Comte. The cattle of this country are very 
handsome ; their forms are compact ; they fatten rapidly ; 
and they are a kind of cattle from which the grazer would 
derive most advantage, were it not that certain diseases 
absorb, by the loss of some of the animals, the profits of the 
rest of the herd. Amongst the diseases which most fre- 
quently attack the cattle which are brought from the North, 
there is one very prevalent in some years, and which is the 
more to be dreaded as it is generally incurable ; and the 
slaughter of the animal, before he is perceptibly wasted, is 
the only means by which the farmer can avoid losing the 
whole value of the beast. 

" This disease is chronic pleuro-pneumonia. The symp- 
toms are scarcely recognizable at first, and often the beast is 
ill for a long time without its being perceived. He fattens 
well, and when he is slaughtered the owner is astonished to 
find scarcely half of the lungs capable of discharging the 
function of respiration. When, however, the ox has not 
sufficient strength of constitution to resist the ravages of 
disease, the first symptom which is observed is diminution, 
or irregularity of appetite. Soon afterwards, a frequent, dry 
cough is heard, which becomes feeble and painful as the 
disease proceeds. The dorso-lumbar portion of the spine 
(loins) grows tender ; the animal flinches when the part is 
pressed upon, and utters a peculiar groan, or grunt, which 
the graziers regard as decisive of the malady. 

". Quickly after this, the movements of the flanks become 
irregular and accelerated, and the act of respiration is accom- 



PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 259 

parried by a kind of balancing motion of the whole body. 
The sides of the chest become as tender as the loins, or more 
so ; for the animal immediately throws himself down, if 
pressed upon with any force. The elbows become, in many 
subjects, more and more separated from the sides of the 
chest. The pulse is smaller than natural, and not considera- 
bly increased. The muzzle is hot and dry, alternately.* The 
animal lies down as in a healthy state, but rumination is 
partially or entirely suspended. The fceces are harder than 
they should be ; the urine is of its natural color and quantity ; 
the mouth is often dry ; and the horns and ears retain their 
natural temperature. 

" This first stage of the disease sometimes continues during 
a month, or more, and then, if the animal is to recover, or 
at least, apparently so, the symptoms gradually disappear. 
First of all, the appetite returns, and the beast begins to 
acquire a little flesh. The proprietor should then make 
haste and get rid of him ; for it is very rare that the malady, 
however it may be palliated for a while, does not reappear 
with greater intensity than before. 

" In most cases, the disease continues to pursue its course 
toward its termination without any remission, — every symp- 
tom gradually increasing in intensity. The respiration be- 
comes more painful ; the head is more extended ; the eyes 
are brilliant ; every expiration is accompanied with a grunt, 
and by a kind of puckering of the angles of the lips ; the 
cough becomes smaller, more suppressed, and more painful ; 
the tongue protrudes from the mouth, and a frothy mucus is 
abundantly discharged ; the breath becomes offensive ; a 
purulent fluid of a bloody color escapes from the nostrils ; 



260 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

diarrhoea, profuse and fetid, succeeds to the constipation ; the 
animal becomes rapidly weaker ; he is a complete skeleton, 
and at length he dies. 

"Examination after death discloses slight traces of in- 
flammation in the intestines, discoloration of the liver, and 
a hard, dry substance contained in the manyplus. The 
lungs* adhere to the sides and to the diaphragm by nu- 
merous bands, evidently old and very firm. The substance 
of the luDgs often presents a reddish-gray hepatization 
throughout almost its whole extent. At other times, there 
are tubercles in almost every state of hardness, and in that 
of suppuration. The portion of the lungs that is not hepa- 
tized is red, and gorged with blood. Besides the old adhe- 
sions, there are numerous ones of recent date. The pleura 
is not much reddened, but by its thickness in some points, 
its adhesion in others, and the effusion of a serous fluid, it 
proves how much and how long it has participated in the 
inflammatory action. The trachea and the bronchia are 
slightly red, and the right side of the head is gorged with 
blood. 

"In a subject in which, during life, I could scarcely 
feel the beating of the heart, I found the whole of the left 
lobe of the lungs adhering to the sides, and completely hepa- 
tized. In another, that had presented no sign of disease of 
the chest, and that for some days before his death vomited 
the little fodder which he could take, the whole of that por- 
tion of the oesophagus that passed through the chest was 
surrounded with dense false membranes, of a yellowish hue, 
ranging from light to dark, and being in some parts more 
than an inch in thickness, and adhering closely to the mus- 



PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 261 

cular membrane of the tube, without allowing any trace to 
be perceived of that portion of the mediastinal pleura on 
which this unnatural covering was fixed and developed. 

" The cattle purchased in Franche Comte are brought to 
Avesnes at two periods of the year — in autumn and in the 
spring. Those which are brought in autumn are much ,niore 
subject to the disease than those which have arrived in the 
spring ; and it almost always happens that the years in which 
it shows itself most generally are those in which the weather 
Was most unfavorable while the cattle were on the road. 
The journey is performed by two different routes, — through 
Lorraine and through Champagne, — and the disease frequently 
appears in cattle that have arrived by one of these routes. 
The manner in which the beasts are treated, on their arrival, 
may contribute not a little to the development of the malady. 
These animals, which have been driven long distances in bad 
weather, and frequently half starved, arrived famished, and 
therefore the more fatigued, and some of them lame. Cal- 
culating on their ravenous appetite, the graziers, instead of 
giving them wholesome food, make them consume the worst 
that the farm contains, — musty and mouldy fodder ; and it is 
usually by the cough, which -the eating of such food nec- 
essarily produces, that the disease is discovered and first de- 
veloped. 

" Is chronic pleuro-pneumonia contagious ? The farmers 
believe that it is, and I am partly of their opinion. When 
an animal falls sick in the pasture, the others, after his 
removal, go and smell at the grass where he has lain, and 
which he has covered with his saliva, and, after that, new 
cases succeed to the first. It is true that this fact is not 



262 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

conclusive, since the disease also appears in a great number 
of animals that have been widely separated from each other. 
But I have myself seen three cases in which the cattle of the 
country, perfectly well before, have fallen ill, and died with 
the same symptoms, excepting that they have been more 
acute, after they have been kept with cattle affected with this 
disease. This circumstance inclines me to think that the 
disease is contagious ; or, at least, that, in the progress of it, 
the breath infects the cow-house in which there are other 
animals already predisposed to the same disease. I am in- 
duced to believe that most of the serious internal diseases 
are communicated in this manner, and particularly those 
which affect the organs of respiration, when the animals are 
shut up in close, low, and badly- ventilated cow-houses." 
\_Rec. de Med. Vet. Mai, 1833.] 

No malady can be more terrible and ruinous than this 
among dairy-stock ; and its spread all over the country, to- 
gether with its continuance with scarcely any abatement, 
must be attributed to the combination of various causes. 
The chief are : first, the very contagious ,or infectious nature 
of the disorder ; second, inattention on the part of Govern- 
ment to the importation and subsequent sale of diseased 
animals ; and, third, the recklessness of purchasers of dairy 
or feeding cattle. 

This disease may be defined as an acute inflammation of 
the organs of the chest, with the development of a peculiar 
and characteristic poison, which is the active element of in- 
fection or contagion. It is a disease peculiar to the cattle 
tribe, notwithstanding occasional assertions regarding obser- 
vations of the disease among horses, sheep, and other 



PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 263 

animals, — which pretended observations have not been well 
attested. 

The infectious, or contagious nature of this virulent malady- 
is incontestibly substantiated by an overwhelming amount 
of evidence, which cannot be adduced at full length here, 
feut which may be classified under the following heads : first, 
the constant spreading of the disease from countries in which 
it rages to others which, previously to the importation of 
diseased animals, had been perfectly free from it. This may 
be proved in the case of England, into which county it was 
carried in 1842, by affected animals from Holland. Twelve 
months after, it spread from England to Scotland, by means 
of some cattle sold at All-Hallow Fair, and it was only twelve 
months afterward that cattle imported as far north as Inver- 
ness took the disease there. Lately, a cow taken from 
England to Australia was observed to be diseased upon 
landing, and the evil results were limited to her owner's stock, 
who gave the alarm, and ensured an effectual remedy against 
a wider spread. Besides, the recent importation of pleuro- 
pneumonia into the United States from Holland appears to 
have awakened our agricultural press generally, and to have 
convinced them of the stubborn fact that our cattle have been 
decimated by a fearfully infectious, through probably prevent- 
able, plague. A letter from this country to an English 
author says: "Its (pleuro -pneumonia's) contagious charac- 
ter seems to be settled beyond a doubt, though some of the 
Y. S. practitioners deny it, which is almost as reasonable as it 
would be to deny any other well-authenticated historic 
fact. Every case of the disease is traceable to one of two 
sources ; either to Mr. Chenery's stock in Belmont (near 



264 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Boston, Massachusetts), into which the disease was introduced 
by his importation of four Dutch cows from Holland, which 
arrived here the 23d of last May ; or else to one of the three 
calves which he sold to a farmer in North Brookfield, Mas- 
sachusetts, last June." 

2dly. Apart from the importation into countries, we have 
this certain proof — to which special attention was drawn 
several years ago — that cattle-dealers' farms, and public 
markets, constitute the busy centres of infection. Most 
anxious and careful inquiries have established the proposition 
that in breeding-districts, where, the proprietors of extensive 
dairies — as in Dumfries, Scotland, and other places — abstain 
from buying, except from their neighbors, who have never 
had diseases of the lungs amongst their stock, pleuro-pneu- 
monia has not been seen. There is a wide district in the 
vicinity of Abington, England, and in the parish of Craw- 
ford, which has not been visited by this plague, with the 
exception of two farms, into which market- cattle had been 
imported and thus brought the disease. 

'ddly. In 1854 appeared a Report of the Researches on 
Pleuro-Pneumonia, by a scientific commission, instituted by the 
Minister of Agriculture in France. This very able pamphlet 
was edited by Prof. Bouley, of Alfort, France. The mem- 
bers of the commission belonged to the most eminent 
veterinarians and agriculturists in France. Magendie was 
President ; Regnal, Secretary ; besides Rayer, the renowned 
comparative pathologist ; Yvart, the Inspector-General of the 
Imperial Veterinary Schools ; Renault, Inspector of the 
Imperial Yeterinary Schools ; Delafond, Director of Alfort 
College ; Bouley, Lassaigne, Baudemont, Doyere, Manny de 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 265 

Morny, and a few others representing the public. If such 
a commission were occasionally appointed in this country for 
similar purposes, how much light would be thrown on subjects 
of paramount importance to the agricultural community ! 

Conclusions arrived at by the commission are too import- 
ant to be overlooked in this connection. The reader must 
peruse the Report itself, if he needs to satisfy himself as to 
the care taken in conducting the investigations : but the fore- 
going names sufficiently attest the indisputable nature of the 
facts alluded to. 

In instituting its experiments, the commission had in view 
the solving of the following questions : — 

Istly. Is the epizootic pleuro-pneumonia of cattle suscepti- 
ble of being transmitted from diseased to healthy animals by 
cohabitation ? 

2dly. In the event of such contagion's existing, would all 
the animals become affected, or what proportion would resist 
the disease ? 

Bdly. Amongst the animals attacked by the disease, how 
many recover, and under what circumstances ? How many 
succumb ? 

Uhly. Are there any animals of the ox species decidedly 
free from any susceptibility of being affected from the conta- 
gion of pleuro-pneumonia ? 

bthly. Do the animals, which have been once affected by 
a mild form of the disease, enjoy immunity from subsequent 
attacks ? 

ftthly. Do. the animals, which have once been affected by 
the disease in its active form, enjoy such immunity ? 

To determine these questions, the commission submitted 



266 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

at different times to the influence of cohabitation with diseased 
animals forty-six perfectly healthy ones, chosen from districts 
in which they had never been exposed to a similar influence. 

Of these forty-six animals, twenty were experimented on 
at Pomeraye, two at Charentonneau, thirteen at Alfort, and 
eleven, in the fourth experiment, at Chareutonneau. 

Of this number, twenty-one animals resisted the disease 
when first submitted to the influence of cohabitation, ten 
suffered slightly, and fifteen took the disease. Of the fifteen 
affected, four died, and eleven recovered. Consequently, the 
animals which apparently escaped the disease at the first 
trial amounted to 45.65 per cent., and those affected to 21. 73 
per cent. Of these, 23.91 per cent, recovered, and 8.69 per 
cent. died. But the external appearances in some instances 
proved deceptive, and six of the eleven animals of tl*e last 
experiment, which were regarded as having escaped free, 
were found, on being destroyed, to bear distinct evidence of 
having been affected. This, therefore, modifies the foregoing 
calculations, and the numbers should stand thus :— 

15 enjoy immunity, or 32.61 per cent. 

10 indisposed, " 21.73 " 

17 animals cured, " 36.95 " 

4 dead, " 8.98 

Of the forty -two animals which were exposed in the first 
experiments at Pomeraye and Charentonneau, and which 
escaped either without becoming affected, or recovering, 
eighteen were submitted to a second trial ; and of these 
eighteen animals, five had, in the first experiment, suffered 
from the disease and had recovered ; five had now become 
affected ; and four had been indisposed. The four animals 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 26Y 

submitted to the influence of contagion a third time, had been 
affected on the occasion of the first trial. None of the 
eighteen animals contracted the disease during these renewed 
exposures to the influence of contagion. 

From the results of these experiments, the commission 
drew the following conclusions : — 

lstly. The epizootic pleuro-pneumonia is susceptible of 
being transmitted from diseased to healthy animals by co- 
habitation. 

2dly. All the animals exposed do not take the disease; 
some suffer slightly, and others not at all. 

Sdly. Of the affected animals, some recover and others die. 

Uhly. The animals, whether slightly or severely affected, 
possess an immunity against subsequent attacks. 

These are the general conclusions which the commission 
deemed themselves authorized to draw from their experi- 
ments. The absolute proportion of animals which become 
affected, or which escape the disease, or of those which die 
and which recover, as a general rule, cannot be deduced from 
the foregoing experiments, which, for such a purpose, are too 
limited. The commission simply state the numbers resulting 
from their experiments. From these it transpires that forty- 
five of the animals became severely affected with pleuro- 
pneumonia, and twenty-one per cent, took the disease 
slightly, making the whole sixty-six per cent, which were 
more or less severely attacked. Thirty-four per cent, re- 
mained free from any malady. The proportion of animals 
which re-acquired their wonted appearance of health amounted 
to eighty-three per cent., whereas seventeen per cent. died. 
Many minor points might be insisted on, but it is sufficient 



2G3 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



here to say, that the most careful analysis of all facts has 
proved to practical veterinarians, as well as to experienced 
agriculturists, and must prove to all who will calmly and 
dispassionately consider the point, that pleuro-pneumonia is 
pre-eminently an infectious, or contagious disease. 

Symptoms. — From the time that an animal is exposed to 
the contagion to the first manifestation of symptoms, a 
certain period elapses. This is the period of incubation. It 
varies from a fortnight to forty days, or even several months. 
The first signs, proving that the animal has been seized, can 
scarcely be detected by any but a professional man • though, 
if a proprietor of cattle were extremely careful, and had 
pains-taking individuals about his stock, he would invariably 
notice a slight shiver as ushering in the disorder, which for 
several days, even after the shivering fit, would limit itself to 

slight interfer- 
ence in breath- 
ing, readily de- 
tected on aus- 
cultation. Per- 
haps a cough 
might be no- 
ticed, and that 
the appetite and 
milk-secretion 
diminished. The animal becomes costive, and the shivering 
fits recur. The cough becomes more constant and oppressive ; 
the pulse full and frequent, usually numbering about eighty 
per minute at first, and rising to upwards of one hundred. 
The temperature of the body rises, and all the symptoms of 




THE TWINS. 



PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 269 

acute fever set in. A moan, or grunt, in the early part of 
the disease indicates a dangerous attack, and the alae nasi 
(cartilages of the nose) rise spasmodically at each inspiration ; 
the air rushes through the inflamed windpipe and bronchial 
tubes, so as to produce a loud, coarse respiratory murmur ; 
and the spasmodic action of the abdominal muscles indicates 
the difficulty the animal also experiences in the act of expira- 
tion. Pressure over the intercostal (between the ribs) spaces, 
and pressing on the spine, induce the pain so characteristic 
of pleurisy, and a deep moan not infrequently follows such 
an experiment. The eyes are bloodshot, mouth clammy, 
skin dry and tightly bound to the subcutaneous textures, and 
the urine is scanty and high-colored. 

Upon auscultation, the characteristic dry, sonorous rale 
of ordinary bronchitis may be detected along the windpipe, 
and in the bronchial tubes. A loud sound of this description 
is, not infrequently, detected at the anterior part of either 
side of the chest ; whilst the respiratory murmur is entirely 
lost, posteriorly, from consolidation of the lungs. A decided 
leathery, frictional sound is detected over a considerable 
portion of the thoracic surface. \s the disease advances, 
and gangrene, with the 'production of cavities in the lungs, 
ensues, loud, cavernous rales are heard, which are more or 
less circumscribed, occasionally attended by a decided metal- 
lic noise. When one lobe of the lungs is alone affected, the 
morbid sounds are confined to one side, and on the healthy 
side the respiratory murmur is uniformly louder all over. 

By carefully auscultating diseased cows from day to day, 
interesting changes can be discovered during the animal's 
lifetime. Frequently, the abnormal sounds indicate progres- 



270 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

sive destruction ; but, at other times, portions of the lungs 
that have been totally impervious to air, become the seat of 
sibilant rales, and gradually, a healthy respiratory murmur 
proves that, by absorption of the materials which have been 
plugging the tissues of the lungs, resolution is fast advancing. 
Some very remarkable cases of this description have been 
encountered in practice. 

Unfortunately, we often find a rapid destruction of the 
tissues of the lungs, and speedy dissolution. In other 
instances, the general symptoms of hectic, or consumption, 
attend lingering cases, in which the temperature of the body 
becomes low, and the animal has a dainty appetite, or refuses 
all nourishment. It has a discharge from the eyes, and a 
fetid, sanious discharge from the nose. Not infrequently, it 
coughs up disorganized lung-tissue and putrid pus. Great 
prostration, and, indeed, typhus symptoms, set in. There 
is a fetid diarrhoea, and the animal sinks in the most emaci- 
ated state, often dying from suffocation, in consequence of 
the complete destruction of the respiratory structures. 

Post mortem appearances. — In acute cases, the cadaverous 
lesions chiefly consist in*abundant false membranes in the 
trachea, or windpipe, and closure of* the bronchial tubes by 
plastic lymph. The air-vesicles are completely plugged by 
this material, and very interesting specimens may be obtained 
by careful dissection, in the shape of casts of the bronchial 
tubes and air-vesicles, clustered together like bunches of 
grapes. On slicing the lungs in these cases, hepatization is 
observed, presenting a very peculiar appearance, which is, in 
a great measure, due to the arrangement of the lung-tissue in 
cattle. The pulmonary lobules are of a deep-red or brown 



PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 271 

color, perfectly consolidated, and intersected or separated, 
one from the other, by lighter streaks of yellowish-red lymph, 
occupying the interlobular, areolar tissue. In the more 
chronic cases, the diseased lobes and lobules are found partly 
separated from the more healthy structures. 

This occurs from gangrene, and putrefactive changes, or in 
some instances, from the ulcerative process, so constantly 
observed in the segregation of dead from living tissues. 
Abscesses are not infrequently found in different parts of the 
lungs. Sometimes circumscribed, at others connected with 
bronchial tubes, and not infrequently communicating with 
the pleural cavity. True empyema is not often seen ; but, at 
all times, the adhesions between the costal and visceral 
pleura are extensive, and there is much effusion in the chest. 
In dressed carcasses of cows that have been slaughtered 
from pleuro-pneumonia, even though the disease has not 
been far advanced, it will be found that the butcher has care- 
fully scraped the serous membrane off the inner surface of 
the ribs, as it would otherwise be impossible for him to give 
the pleura its healthy, smooth aspect, from the firm manner 
in which the abundant false membranes adhere to it. The 
direased lungs sometimes attain inordinate weight. They 
have been known to weigh as much as sixty pounds. 

Treatment. — The veterinary profession is regarded by many 
who have sustained heavy losses from pleuro-pneumonia, as 
deeply ignorant, because its members cannot often cure the 
disease. Persons forget that there are several epidemics 
which prove equally difficult to manage on the part of the 
physician, such as cholera, yellow fever, etc. The poison in 
these contagious, epizootic diseases is so virulent that the 



212 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

animals may be regarded as dead from the moment they are 
attacked. Its elimination from the system is impossible, and 
medicine cannot support an animal through its tardy, ex- 
hausting, and destructive process of clearing the system of 
so potent a virus. All antiphlogistic means have failed, such 
as blood-letting and the free use of evacuants. Derivatives, 
in the form of mustard-poultices, or more active blisters, are 
attended with good results. Stimulants have proved of the 
greatest service ; and the late Prof. Tessona, of Turin, 
strongly recommended, from the very onset of the disease, 
the administration of strong doses of quinine. Maffei, of 
Ferrara, states that he has obtained great benefit from the 
employment of ferruginous tonics and manganese in the very 
acute stage of the malady, supported by alcholic stimulants. 
Recently, the advantages resulting from the use of sulphate 
of iron, both as a preventive and curative, have been ex- 
hibited in France. It would appear that the most valuable 
depurative method of treatment yet resorted to is by the 
careful use of the Roman bath. Acting, like all other sud- 
orifics in cases of fever and blood diseases, it carries off by 
the skin much of the poison, without unduly lowering the 
vital powers. 

Prevention.— The rules laid down in Denmark, and indeed 
in many other places, appear the most natural for the pre- 
vention of the disease. If they could be carried out, the 
disease must necessarily be stopped ; but there are practical 
and insuperable difficulties in the way of enforcing them. 
Thus, a Dr. Warneke says, prevention consists in "the 
avoidance of contagion; the slaughter of infected beasts; 
the prohibition of keeping cattle by those whose cattle have 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 273 

been slaughtered, for a space of ten weeks after the last case 
occurring ; the disinfection of stalls vacated by slaughter- 
ing ; the closing of infected places to all passing of cattle ; 
especial attention to the removal of the dung, and of the 
remains of the carcasses of slaughtered beasts ; and, finally, 
undeviating severity of the law against violators." 

Dr. Williams, of Hasselt, suggested and carried out, in 
1851, the inoculation of the virus of pleuro-pneumonia, in 
order to induce a mild form of the disease in healthy animals, 
and prevent their decimation by the severe attacks due to 
contagion. He met with much encouragement, and perhaps 
more opposition. Didot, Corvini, Ercolani, and many more 
accepted Dr. Williams's facts as incontestable, and wrote, 
advocating his method of checking the spread of so destruc- 
tive a plague. 

The first able memoir which contested all that has been 
said in favor of inoculation, appeared in Turin, and was 
written by Dr. Riviglio, a Piedmontese veterinary surgeon. 
This was supported by the views of many others. Prof. 
Simonds wrote against the plan, and, in 1854, the French 
commission, whose report has been before mentioned, con- 
firmed, in part, Riviglio's views, though, from the incomplete- 
ness of the experiments, further trials were recommended. 

Inoculation is performed as follows : A portion of diseased 
lung is chosen, and a bistoury or needle made to pierce it so 
as to become charged with the material consolidating the lung, 
and this is afterward plunged into any part, but, more par- 
ticularly, toward the point of the tail. If operated severely, 
and higher up, great exudation occurs, which spreads upward, 
invades the areolar tissue round the rectum and other pelvic 

18 



274 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES* 

organs, and death soon puts an end to the animal's excruciat- 
ing suffering. If the operation is properly performed with 
lymph that is not putrid, and the incisions are not made too 
deep, the results are limited to local exudation and swelling, 
general symptoms of fever, and gradual recovery. The most 
common occurrence is sloughing of the tail ; and in London, 
at the present time, dairies are to be seen in which all the 
cows have short-tail stumps. 

Dr. Williams and others have gone too far in attempting 
to describe a particular corpuscle as existing in the lymph of 
pleuro-pneumonia. All animal poisons can be alone dis- 
covered from their effects. In structure and chemical con- 
stitution, there is no difference, and often the most potent 
poiSons are simple fluids. The Belgian Commission, ap- 
pointed to investigate the nature and influence of inoculation 
for pleuro-pneumonia, very justly expressed an opinion that 
Dr. Williams had not proved that a specific product, dis- 
tinguished by anatomical characters, and appreciable by the 
microscope, existed in this disease. 

The all-important question, "Is inoculation of service ?" has 
to the satisfaction of most been solved. The Belgian and 
French commissions, the observations of Biviglio, Simond, 
Herring, and many others, prove that a certain degree of 
preservative influence is derived by the process of inoculation. 
It does not, however, arrest the progress of the disease. It 
certainly diminishes to some extent — though often very 
slightly so — the number of cases, and, particularly, of severe 
ones. This effect has been ascribed to a derivative action, 
independent of any specific influence, and, indeed, similar to 
that of introducing setons in the dewlap. 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 215 

In London, some dairymen have considerable faith in 
inoculation, though its effect is uncertain, and the manner of 
its working a mystery. The best counsel, in the premises, 
which can be given to the keeper of dairy stock is, to select 
his own animals from healthy herds, and strictly to avoid 
public markets. In many instances, a faithful observance of 
these injunctions has been sufficient to prevent the invasion 
of this terrible disease. [Gamgee.] 

The existence of this disease in the United States was not 
generally known until the year 1859, when Mr. Chenery, of 
Belmont, near Boston, Massachusetts, imported several cows 
from Holland, which arrived in the early part of the spring 
of that year. Some of the animals were sick when they 
arrived, but the true nature of the disease was not at that 
time suspected. Several of them were so bad that they were 
carried in trucks to Mr. Chenery's barn. Some two months 
passed away before the character of the disease was dis- 
covered. 

Upon the facts becoming known, the citizens of Massa- 
chusetts became panic-stricken, as the disease was rapidly 
spreading over that State. An extra session of the Legisla- 
ture was speedily convened, when a Joint Special Commit- 
tee was appointed, to adopt and carry out such measures as 
in their judgment seemed necessary for the extirpation of this 
monster, pleuro-pneumonia. 

The Committee met in the Hall of the House of Represen- 
tatives, Thursday, May, 31, 1860, to receive evidence as 
to the contagious or infectious character of the disease, in 
order to determine concerning the necessity of legislative 
action. 



276 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Mr. Walker, one of the commissioners appointed by the 
Governor, made the following statement : " The disease was 
introduced into North Brookfield from Belmont. Mr. Curtis 
Stoddard, a young man of North Brookfield, went down, the 
very last of June, last year, and purchased three calves of 
Mr. Chenery, of Belmont. He brought these calves up in 
the cars to Brookfield. On their way from the depot to his 
house, about five miles, one of the calves was observed to falter, 
and when he got to his house, it seemed to be sick, and in 
two or three days exhibited very great illness ; so much so, 
that his father came along, and, thinking -he could take 
better care of it, took the calf home. He took it to his own 
barn, in which there were about forty head of cattle ; but it 
grew no better, and his son went up and brought it back 
again to his own house. In about ten days after that, it 
died. His father, who had had the calf nearly four days, in 
about a fortnight afterward observed that one of his oxen 
was sick, and it grew worse very fast and died. Two weeks 
after, a second also sickened, and died. Then a third was 
attacked and died, the interval growing wider from the 
attack of one animal to that of another, until he had lost 
eight oxen and cows. Young Stoddard lost no animal by 
the infection, — that is, no one died on his hands. Prior to 
the appointment of this Commission, about the first of No- 
vember, — for reasons independent of this disease, which I 
don't suppose he then knew the nature of, — he sold off his 
stock. He sold off eleven heifers, or young animals, and 
retained nine of the most valuable himself; which shows that 
he did not then know any thing was the matter with them. 

" These nine were /our oxen, and five young cattle. The 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 2 Y T 

four he took to his father's, three of the others to his 
uncle's, and the remaining two to his father-in-law's ; distribu- 
ting them all among his friends, — which furnishes another 
proof that he did not suppose he was doing any mischief. 
He disposed of his herd in that way. From this auction, 
these eleven animals went in different directions, and wherever 
they went, they scattered the infection. Without a single 
failure the disease has followed those cattle ; in one case, 
more than two hundred cattle having been infected by one 
which was sold at Curtis Stoddard's auction, when he was 
entirely ignorant of the disease. 

" When the commission was appointed, they went and ex- 
amined his cattle, and were satisfied that they were diseased, 
— -at least, some of them. They examined his father's herd, 
and found that they were very much diseased ; and when 
we came to kill Curtis Stoddard's cattle, seven of the nine 
head were diseased. Two were not condemned, because the 
law says, ' Cattle not appearing to be diseased, shall be 
appraised.' Nevertheless, it proved that these animals were 
diseased ; so that his whole herd was affected. 

" In regard to Leonard Stoddard's cattle, he lost fourteen 
of his animals before the commissioners went to his place. 
They took eighteen more, all of which were diseased, — most 
of them very bad cases, — indeed, extreme cases. That left 
eight heads, which were not condemned, because not appear- 
ing to be diseased. Here I remark, that when this disease is 
under the shoulder-blade, it cannot be detected by percussion. 
The physicians did not say that the animal was not diseased, 
but that they did not see sufficient evidence upon which to 
condemn. Such animals were to be paid for, upon the ground 



2T8 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

of their not appearing to be diseased. Nevertheless, it is 
proper to state that the remaining eight which were not con- 
demned, were suspected to be diseased, and we told Mr. 
Stoddard that we had the impression that they were diseased, 
notwithstanding appearances. He said, ' There is a three- 
year-old animal that has never faltered at all. She has never 
manifested the slightest disease. If you will kill her, and 
she is diseased, I shall make up my mind that I have not a 
well animal in my stalls.' We killed the animal, and found 
her to be badly diseased. 

" Thus, the first two herds were all infected by the disease ; 
and in the last of Curtis Stoddard's oxen which we killed, 
we found a cyst in the lungs of each. One of these lungs is 
now in this building, never having been cut open, and medi- 
cal men can see the cyst which it contains. I have said in 
what manner Mr. Curtis Stoddard's cattle spread the infec- 
tion. 

" In regard to Mr. Leonard Stoddard's : in the first place, 
he kept six or eight oxen which he employed in teaming. 
He was drawing some lumber, and stopped over night, with 
his oxen, at Mr. Needham's. Needham lost his whole herd. 
He lost eight or ten of them, and the rest were in a terrible 
condition. Seven or eight more were condemned, and his 
whole herd was destroyed, in consequence of Mr. Stoddard's 
stopping with him over night. Mr. Stoddard sold an animal 
to Mr. Woodis of New Braintree. He had twenty-three 
fine cows. It ruined his herd utterly. Seven or eight 
animals died before the commissioners got there. Mr. L. 
Stoddard also sold a yoke of cattle to Mr. Olmstead, one of 
his neighbors, who had a very good herd. They stayed only 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 219 

five days in his hands, when they passed over to Mr. Doane. 
In these five days they had so infected his herd that it was 
one of the most severe instances of disease that we have 
had. One third were condemned, and another third were 
passed over as sound, whether they were so, or not. They 
did not appear to be diseased. The cattle that were passed 
from Mr. Stoddard through Mr. Olmstead to Mr. Doane, 
were loaned by Mr. D. to go to a moving of a building from 
Oakham to New Braintree. They were put in with twenty- 
two yoke of cattle, and employed a day and a half. It has 
since been proved that the whole of these cattle took the 
contagion. They belonged to eleven different herds, and of 
course, each of these herds formed a focus from which the 
disease spread. Now, in these two ways the disease has 
spread in different directions. 

" But, when the commissioners first commenced, they had 
no idea that the disease extended further than those herds in 
which there were animals sick. Hence, their ideas and the 
Ideas of those who petitioned for the law, did not extend at 
all to so large a number of herds as have since been proved 
to be diseased, because they only judged of those who mani- 
fested disease. As soon as we began in that circle, we 
found a second circle of infection, and another outside of 
that ; and by that time it had branched off in various direc- 
tions to various towns. It assumed such proportions that it 
was very evident that the commissioners had not the funds 
to perform the operations required by the law. The law con- 
fines the commissioners to one operation, — killing and bury- 
ing. No discretionary power is given at all. The commis- 
sioners became entirely dissatisfied with that condition of 



280 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

things, because other measures besides merely killing and 
burying, are quite as necessary and important. When they ' 
arrived at that point and discovered to what extent the in- 
fection had spread, they stopped killing the herds, and I 
believe there has not been a herd killed for twenty days. 

"The policy was then changed to circumscribing the 
disease, by isolating the herds just as fast as possible and as 
surely as possible. A man's herd has been exposed. There 
is no other way than to go and examine it, and take the 
diseased animals away. Then he knows the animals .are 
diseased, and his neighbors know it. That has been the 
business of the commissioners for the last twenty days ; 
and the facts that they have no discretionary power what- 
ever, and that they were entirely circumscribed in their 
means, and that it was hard for the farmers to lose their 
stock and not be paid for it,-^induced them to petition the 
Governor, in connection with the Board of Agriculture, for 
the calling of a session of the Legislature, to take measures 
for the extinction of the disease. " 

In response to a question, " Whether any animals that had 
once been affected, had afterward recovered ?"-— the same 
gentleman stated that instances had occurred where cattle 
had been sick twice, and had, apparently, fully recovered ; 
they ruminated readily, and were gaining flesh. Upon exami- 
nation, however, they were pronounced diseased, and, when 
killed, both lungs were found in a hopeless case, very badly 
diseased. 

Dr. George B. Loring, another of the commissioners, 
stated that eight hundred and forty-two head of cattle had, 
at that time, been killed, and that, from a careful estimate, 



PLEURO-PNEUMONI A . 281 

there still remained one thousand head, which should either 
be killed, or isolated for such a length of time as should es- 
tablish the fact that they had no disease about them. Twenty 
thousand dollars and upwards had already been appraised as 
the value of the cattle then killed. 

As to disinfecting measures, the farmers who had lost 
cattle were requested to whitewash their barns thoroughly, 
and some tons of a disinfecting powder were purchased for 
the advantage of the persons who wished to use it. An 
early application was advised, that the barns might be in 
readiness for hay the then coming season. 

The practice adopted by the commissioners was, to ap- 
praise the cattle whenever a herd was found which had been 
exposed, and a surgeon was appointed to pass judgment upon 
the number of diseased animals. After that judgment, the 
remaining animals that were pronounced sound were killed, 
and passed to the credit of the owner, after an appraisement 
made by these persons. The fair market-prices were paid, 
averaging about thirty-three dollars a head. At the time 
of the meeting of the committee, some seventy cattle had 
died of the disease. » 

An examination was made of some of the animals killed, 
and the following facts obtained : — 

Case 1. — This cow had been sick for nineteen days ; was 
feeble, without much appetite, with diarrhoea, cough, short- 
ness of breathing, hair staring, etc. Percussion dull over 
the whole of the left side of the chest ; respiration weak. 
Killed by authority. Several gallons of serum were found 
in the left side of the chest ; a thick, furzy deposit of lymph 
over all the pleura-coda lis. This lymph was an inch in 



282 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

thickness, resembling the velvety part of tripe, and quite 
firm. There was a firm deposit of lymph in the whole 
left lung, but more especially at its base, with strong ad- 
hesions to the diaphragm and pleura-co stalls near the spine. 
The lung was hard and brittle, like liver, near its base. No 
pus. Right lung and right side of chest healthy. 

Case 2.— This cow was taken very sick, January 30th. 
In fourteen days, she began to get better. April 12th, she 
is gaining flesh, breathes well, hair healthy, gives ten quarts of 
milk a day, and in all other respects bids fair for a healthy 
animal hereafter, except a slight cough. Percussion dull 
over base of the left lung, near the spine, and respiration 
feeble in the same regions. 

Autopsy—Left lung strongly adherent to diaphragm and 
costal pleura ; the long adhesions well smoothed off; pleura- 
costalis shining and healthy. Also, the surface of the lung, 
when there were no adhesions, sound and right; all the lung 
white, and free for the entrance of air, except the base, in 
which was a cyst containing a pint or two of pus. Loose 
in this pus was a hard mass, as large as a two-quart measure, 
looking like marble ; when cut through its centre, it appeared 
like the brittle, hardened lining in case 1. It appeared as 
though a piece of lung had been detached by suppuration 
and enclosed in an air-tight cyst, by which decomposition was 
prevented. The other lung and the chest were sound. It is 
to be inferred, as there were adhesions, that, there had been 
pleurisy and deposit of lymph and serum, as in case 1, and 
that Nature had commenced the cure by absorbing the serum 
from the chest, and the lymph from the free pleural surface, 
and smoothed off every thing to a good working condition. 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 283 

The lump in the cyst was-brittle and irregular on its surface, 
as though it was dissolving in the pus. No good reason can 
be given why Nature should not consummate the work which 
she had so wisely begun. 

Case 3. — This cow had been sick fourteen days; was cough- 
ing and breathing badly ; percussion dull over both chests, 
and respiration feeble. Killed. 

Autopsy. — Both chests filled with water ; deposits of lymph 
over all the pleura-costalis, presenting the same velvety, 
furzy appearance as in Case 1. Both lungs were hardened 
at the base, and the left throughout its whole extent, and 
firmly adherent to diaphragm and costal pleura, near the 
spine. The right lung had nearly one-third of its substance 
in a condition for the entrance of air ; but this portion, even, 
was so compressed with the water, that a few hours longer 
would have terminated the case fatally without State aid. 
This case had not proceeded far enough for the formation of 
the cyst or pus. 

In Mr. Needham's herd, about twenty-eight days inter- 
vened between the first and second case of disease, instead 
of about fourteen, as in Mr. Olmstead's. 

Case 4. — A nice heifer, in fair condition, eating well, only 
having a slight cough. Percussion dull over base of the left 
lung. 

Autopsy. — Base of left lung adherent to diaphragm and 
costal pleura ; lung hardened. On cutting into base, found 
ulceration and a head of Timothy grass, four or five inches 
long. Animal in every other way well. 

Case 5. — This cow was taken, January 1st, with a cough, 
difficulty of breathing, and the other symptoms of the disease, 



284 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

and continued sick till March 1st. On taking her out, April 
12th, to be slaughtered, she capered, stuck up her tail, 
snuffed, and snorted, showing all the signs of feeling well and 
vigorous. 

Autopsy. — Right lung firmly adherent to diaphragm and 
costal pleura, near the spine. Base of lung hardened, con- 
taining a cyst with a large lump, of the size of a two-quart 
measure, floating in pus ; outside of the lump was of a dirty 
yellow- white, irregular, brittle, and cheesy ; the inside mottled, 
or divided into irregular squares ; red like muscle, and break- 
ing under the finger, like liver. Costal pleura smooth, 
shining ; adhesions where there was motion ; card-like and 
polished ; no serum ; lung apparently performing its functions 
well, except for a short distance above the air-tight cyst, 
where it was still hardened. It would seem as though 
Nature was intending to dissolve this lump, and carry it off 
by absorption. She knows how, and would have done it, in 
the opinion of the writer, had she been allowed- sufficient 
time. 

Case 6.-— Was taken December 18th, and was very sick ; 
in three weeks she was well, except a cough, quite severe, 
and so continued till about the first of March, when she 
coughed harder and grew worse till seven days before she 
was killed, April 12th, when she brought forth a calf, and 
then commenced improving again. 

Autopsy. — Right lung adherent to diaphragm and costal 
pleura. At its base, was a flabby, fluctuating cyst. In 
cutting into it, the lump was found to be breaking up by 
decomposition, and scenting badly. Every thing else normal. 
Was not the cyst broken through by some accident, thus 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 



285 



letting in the air, when she grew worse ? Would she not, 
probably, have overcome this disagreeable accident, and re- 
covered, in spite of it ? This cow's hair did not look well, 
as did that of those in which the cyst was air-tight ; but still 
she was beginning to eat well again, and appeared in a tolera- 
ble way for recovery. 

Case 7. — This heifer had coughed slightly for six weeks, 
but the owner said he thought no one going into his herd 
would notice that any thing was the matter with her. 

Autopsy. — Slight adhesions of lung to diaphragm. Near 
these adhesions are small cysts, of the size of a walnut, con- 
taining pus and »* - &- 
cheesy matter; ^8 
about the cysts g 
a little way the 
lung was hard- 
ened, say for half 
an inch. There 
were several | 
cysts, and they m 
appeared as | 
though the in- 
flammation at- 
tacked only the different lobes of the lungs, leaving others 
healthy between, — Nature throwing out coagulable lymph 
around the diseased lobe, and forming thereby an air-tight 
cyst, cutting around the diseased lobe by suppuration, so 
that it could be carried off by absorption. 

In the herd to which this animal belonged, nine days after 
the first cow died, the second case occurred. First cow was 




A KURAL SCENE. 



286 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

sick five weeks. The time of incubation could not have 
been over six weeks, — probably not over three weeks. Of 
these cows, one improved in eight weeks, the other in three 
weeks. 

Case 8. — This cow had been sick three weeks. Killed. 

Autopsy. — Large quantities of serum in left chest ; lung 
adherent, and hardened at base. On cutting into the hard- 
ened lung, one side of the lump was found separated from 
the lung, with pus between the lines of separation, and the 
forming coat of the cyst outside of the pus ; the other 
side of the lump was part and parcel of the hardened lung 
which had not yet had time to commence separation. The 
costal pleura was covered with organized lymph to the 
thickness of an inch, with the usual characteristics. The 
right chest contained a small quantity of serum, and had 
several small, hardened red spots in that lung, with some 
tender, weak adhesions; but most of the right lung was 
healthy. 

Case 9. — Sick four weeks. Killed. 

Autopsy. — Right lung hardened at base ; adherent to 
diaphragm and costal pleura ; lump separated on one side 
only. Cyst beginning to form, outside^ of separation ; pus 
between cyst and lump, but in a very small quantity. 

These two cases settle the character of the lump, and the 
manner of the formation of the cyst ; the lump being lung 
and lymph, cut out by suppuration, — the cyst being organized, 
smoothed off by suppuration, friction, etc. 

Case 10. — Killed. Hair looked badly ; but the cow, it 
was said, ate, and appeared well. This case, however, oc- 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 287 

curred in a herd, of which no reliable information, in detail, 
could be procured. 

Autopsy. — Base of lung hardened, adherent to diaphragm ; 
containing a cyst, in which was a lump, of the size of a quart 
measure, but little pus. This lump had air-tubes running 
through it, which were not yet cut off by suppuration ; and 
in one place, the cyst was perforated by a bronchial tube, 
letting in the external air to the lump, which was undergoing 
disorganization, and swelling badly. When cut into, it did 
not prevent the red, mottled, organized appearance of those 
cases with air-tight cysts. 

Quite a number of other cases were examined, but these ten 
present all the different phases. One or two cases are needed 
of an early stage of the disease, to settle the point, whether, 
in all cases, the primary disease is lung fever, and the 
pleurisy a continuation, merely, of the primary disease ; 
together with some six or eight cases, during five, six, seven, 
eight months from attack, and so on till entire, final recovery. 
Some cases were sick almost a year since, and are now ap- 
parently quite well ; perhaps all 'the lump and pus are not 
yet gone. Many practitioners think that no severe case will 
ever recover, and some think that none ever get entirely well. 
Others, however, can see no reason why, as a general rule, 
all single cases should not recover, and all double cases die. 

The disease was the most fatal in Mr. Chenery's (the 
original) herd, although it was the best-fed and the wannest- 
stabled. He attributed the fatality, in part, to a want of 
sufficient ventilation. The other herds, in which all the fatal 
cases occurred in two hours, consisted, originally, one of 
forty-eight head, of which thirteen died, or were killed, to 



288 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

prevent certain death ; of twenty-three head, of which seven 
died ; of twenty-two head, of which eight died ; of twenty- 
two head, of which eight also died ; and of twenty-one head, 
of which four died. A little less than thirty per cent., there- 
fore, of these herds died. 

This estimate excludes the calves. Most of the cows 
which had not calved before being attacked, lost their calves 
prematurely. The probable time of incubation, as deduced 
from those Massachusetts cases, is from two to three weeks ; 
of propagation, about the same time ; the acute stage of the 
disease lasting about three weeks. 

The author's attention was first directed to this disease, 
upon its appearance in Camden and Gloucester counties, 
New Jersey, in the year 1859, at about the same time it 
made its advent in Massachusetts. The singularity of this 
coincidence inclined him for the time to regard the disease 
as an epizootic — having its origin in some peculiar condition 
of the atmosphere — rather than as a contagious, or infectious 
disease, which position was at that time assumed by him. 

This opinion was strengthened by the fact, that no case 
occurring in New Jersey could be traced to a Massachusetts 
origin, in which State it was claimed that the disease never 
had existed in this country previous to its introduction there. 
It was, therefore, denied by the veterinary surgeons in the 
Eastern States, that the disease in New Jersey was the true 
European pleuro-pneumonia, but it was called by them the 
swill-milk disease of New York City, and it was assigned an 
origin in the distillery cow-houses in Brooklyn and Williams- 
burg. 

In 1860 it found its way across the Delaware River into 



PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 289 

Philadelphia, spreading very rapidly in all directions, par- 
ticularly in the southern section of the county, known as 
The Neck, — many of the dairymen losing from one third to 
one half of their herds by its devastating influence. In 
order to save themselves — in part, at least — from this heavy 
loss, many of them, upon the first indications of the malady, 
sent their animals to the butcher, to be slaughtered for beef. 
In 1861 the disease found its way into Delaware, where its 
ravages were severely felt. So soon, however, as it became 
known that the disease was infectious or contagious, an effort 
was made to trace it to its starting-point ; but, in conse- 
quence of the unwillingness of dairymen to communicate the 
fact that their herds were affected with pleuro -pneumonia, all 
efforts proved fruitless. In 1860 the disease found its way up 
the Delaware to Riverton, a short distance above the city of 
Philadelphia. A cattle-dealer, named Ward, turned some 
cattle into a lot, adjoining which several others were grazing. 
The residents of this place are chiefly the families of gentle- 
men doing business in the city, many of whom lost their fa- 
vorite animals from this destructive malady. 

The first case occurring at this place, to which the 
author's attention was called, was a cow belonging to Mr. D. 
Parrish, which had been exposed by coming in contact with 
Ward's cattle, had sickened, and died. An anxiety having 
been manifested to ascertain the cause of the death, the 
author made an examination of the animal, which, upon 
dissection, proved the disease to be a genuine case of the so- 
called pleuro-pneumonia. This examination was made 
August 20th, 1860, at the time of the Massachusetts excite- 
ment. Two cows, belonging to Mr. Rose, of the same place, 
19 



290 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

had been exposed, and both had taken the disease. His 
attention having been called to them, he placed them under 
the author's treatment, and by the use of diffusible stimulants 
and tonics, one of these animals recovered, while the other 
was slaughtered for an examination, which revealed all the 
morbid conditions so characteristic of this disease: 

The next case was a cow belonging to Mr. G. H. Roach, 
of the same place, which had been grazing in a lot adjoining 
that of Mr. Parrish. This cow was killed in the presence of 
Charles Wood, V.S., of Boston, Mass., and Arthur S. Cope- 
man, of Utica, N. Y., who was one of a committee ap- 
pointed by the New York State Agricultural Society for the 
purpose of investigating the disease. Both of these gentle- 
men having witnessed the disease in all its forms, as it 
appeared in Massachusetts, were the first to identify this 
case with those in that State. 

Upon opening the cow, the left lung was found to be 
completely consolidated, and adhered to the left side, pre- 
senting the appearance usual in such cases. As she was 
with calf, the lungs of the foetus were examined, disclosing a 
beautiful state of red hepatization. 

The author's attention was next called to the herd of Mr. 
Lippincott, a farmer in the neighborhood, who had lost several 
cattle by the disease ; but as he had been persuaded that 
treatment was useless, he abandoned the idea of attempting 
to save his stock in that way. From Riverton it soon spread 
to Burlington, some ten miles farther up the river, where it 
carried off large numbers of valuable cattle, and it continued 
in existence in that neighborhood for some time. 

The disease was not then confined to these localities alone, 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 291 

but has spread over a large extent of country, — and that, 
too, prior to its appearance in Massachusetts, as will be 
shown by extracts from the following letters, published in 
the Country Gentleman : — 

" We have a disease among the cattle here, I will class it 
under these names, — congestion of the lungs, terminating 
with consumption, or dropsy of the chest. Now, I have treated 
two cases ; one five years since, as congestion, — and the first 
is still able to eat her allowance, and give a couple of pails 
of milk a day, — and the other, quite recently. The great 
terror of this disease is, that it is not taken in its first stages, 
which are the same in the cow as in the man — a difficulty in 
breathing, which, if not speedily relieved, terminates in con- 
sumption or dropsy. I have no doubt that consumption is 
contagious ; but is that a reason why every one taken with 
congestion should be killed to check the spread of consump- 
tion ? So I should reason, if I had pleuro-pneumonia in my 
drove of cattle. J. Baldwin. 

"Newark, N. J., June 11, 1860." 

" I notice that a good deal of alarm is felt in different parts 
of the country about what is called the cattle-disease. 

" From the diagnosis given in the papers, I have no doubt 
this is pleuro-pneumonia, with which I had some acquaint- 
ance a few years ago. If it is the same, my observation 
and experience may be of some service to those suffering 
now. 

" It was introduced into my stock, in the fall of 1853, by 
one of my own cows, which, in the spring of that year, I 
had sent down to my brother in Brooklyn, to be used during 
the summer for milk. She was kept entirely isolated through- 



CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

out the summer, and in November was sent up by the boat. 
There were no other cattle on the boat at the time, nor could 
I learn that she had come in contact with any in passing 
through the streets on her way to the boat ; and she certainly 
did not, after leaving it, until she mingled with her old com- 
panions, all of whom were then, and long afterward, perfectly 
well. After she had been home about two weeks, we 
noticed that her appetite failed, and her milk fell off: she 
seemed dull and stupid, stood with her head down, and mani- 
fested a considerable degree of languor. 

" Soon her breathing became somewhat hurried, and with 
a decided catch in it ; she ground her teeth ; continued 
standing, or, if she lay down, it was only to jump up again 
instantly. Her cough increased, and so, too, a purulent and 
bloody discharge from her nostrils and mouth. The excre- 
ment was fetid, black, and hard. 

"In this case, we twice administered half a pound of 
Epsom-salts, and afterward, a bottle of castor-oil. Yery 
little but a temporary effect was produced by these doses. 

" The symptoms all increased in intensity ; strength 
diminished ; limbs drawn together ; belly tucked up, etc. ; 
until the eight day, when she partly lay, and partly fell 
down, and never rose again. 

"In a post-mortem examination, the lungs were gorged 
with black, fetid blood ; the substance of them thickened 
and pulpy. The pleura and diaphragm also showed a good 
deal of disease and some adhesion. This cow, on her arrival 
here, was put in her usual place in the stable, between others. 
She remained there for two or three days after she was taken 
sick, before we removed her to the hospital. 



PLEUR0 -PNEUMONIA. 293 

" In about three weeks from the time she died, one and 
then the other of those standing on either side of her were 
attacked in the same way, and with but two days between. 
This, certainly, looks very much like contagion; but my 
attention had not before been called to this particular disease, 
and to suppose inflammation or congestion of the lungs con- 
tagious was so opposed to my preconceived notions, that I 
did not even then admit it ; and these animals were suffered 
to remain with the others until their own comfort seemed to 
require the greater liberty of open pens. 

" One of them was early and copiously bled twice, while 
Epsom-salts were administered, both by the stomach and 
with the injective-pump. The other we endeavored to keep 
nauseated with ipecacuanha, and the same time to keep her 
bowels open by cathartic medicine. All proved to be of 
no avail. They both died, — the one in ten, the other in 
thirteen days. Before these died, however, others were 
taken sick. And thus, later, I had eight sick at one time. 

" The leading symptoms in all were the same, with minor 
differences ; and so, too, was the appearance after death, on 
examination. 

" Of all that were taken sick (sixteen) but two recovered ; 
and they were among those we did the least for, after we had 
become discouraged about trying to cure them. In all the 
last cases we made no effort at all, but to keep them as com- 
fortable as we could. In one case, the acute character of 
the disease changed to chronic, and the animal lived six or 
eight weeks, until the whole texture of the lungs had be- 
come destroyed. She had become much emaciated, and 
finally died with the ordinary consumption. 



294 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

" At the time the first case appeared, I had a herd of 
thirty- one animals, all valuable Ayrshires, in fine condition 
and healthy. In all the first cases, I had a veterinary sur- 
geon of considerable celebrity and experience, and every 
ordinary approved method of treatment was resorted to and 
persevered in. The last cases — as before intimated — we only 
strove to make comfortable. 

" After I had paid the third or fourth forfeit, I began to 
awake up to the idea that the disease was, in a high degree, 
contagious, whether I would have it so or not ; and that my 
future security was in prevention, and not in remedy. I 
therefore separated all the remaining animals ; in no instance 
having more than two together, and generally but one in a 
place. 

" AH were removed from the infected stalls, and put into 
quarantine. Isolated cases continued to occur after this for 
some weeks, but the spread of the disease was stayed ; nor 
did a single case occur after this, which we did not think we 
traced directly to previous contact. 

" It is impossible to account for the first case of which I 
have spoken. But, as the cow in that case was put into a 
sale-stable in New York while waiting for the boat, — though 
there were no cattle then present, — yet I have supposed it 
not unlikely that diseased animals had been there, and had 
left the seeds of the disease. 

" But, account for this case as we may, — and I have no 
doubt it is sometimes spontaneous, — I feel convinced it is 
very highly contagious ; and that the only safety to a herd 
into which it has been introduced, is in complete isolation, 
— and in this I feel as convinced that there is safety. My 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 295 

cattle were not suffered to return to the barn-yard or to any 
part of the cattle-barns, except as invalids were sent to ' the 
hospital' to die, until late the next fall, i.e., the fall of 1854. 
In the mean time, the hay and straw had all been removed ; 
the stables, stalls, cribs and all thoroughly scrubbed with 
ashes and water, fumigated, and whitewashed with quick- 
lime. I have had no case since, and am persuaded I should 
have avoided most of those I had before, if I had reasonably 
admitted the evidence of my senses in the second and third 
cases. E. P. Prentice. 

Mount Hope, June 14th, 1860." 

The author's experience with the disease, during the last 
year in New Jersey, proves the efficacy of remedial agents 
when applied in the early stages of the disease. Late in the 
spring of 1861, Mr. J. E. Hancock, of Burlington County 
(residing near Columbus, N. J.), purchased some cattle in 
the Philadelphia market, which, after they were driven home, 
he turned in with his other stock. Soon after this purchase, 
one of the animals sickened and died. This was in August ; 
after which time Mr. H. lost eight cows, — having, at the 
time of the death of the last animal, some five others sick 
with the same disorder. 

The author was called in, December 8th, 1861, and the 
five animals then placed under his treatment. On the 12th 
of December, in the same year, one of these cows, at his 
suggestion, was killed, which, upon the post-mortem exami- 
nation, beautifully illustrated the character of the disease. 
The right lung was comparatively healthy ; the left one com- 
pletely hepatized, or consolidated, and so enlarged as to fill 
up the left cavity of the chest to its utmost capacity. This 



296 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

lung weighed thirty pounds. There was no effusion in the 
chest, but there was considerable adhesion of the pleura- 
costalis andpleura-pulmonalis. All the other tissues appeared 
to be healthy. 

To the remaining animals, was administered the following : 
aqua ammonia, three drachms ; nitric ether, one ounce ; pul- 
verized gentian-root, half an ounce ; mixed with one quart 
of water, and drenched three times a day. The last thing at 
night was given a teaspoonful of phosphate of lime, mixed in 
a little feed, or in gruel. Setons, or rowels, in the dewlap 
are also very beneficial. Under this treatment they all did 
well. 

Soon after the introduction of the disease into this herd, it 
found its way to the herd of William Hancock, a brother of 
the former gentleman, who had an adjoining farm. In this 
herd one cow died, and the disease was found by the author 
developed in four more cows and two oxen, all of which — 
with a single exception — did well under the above treatment. 
The disease afterward showed itself in the herd of John Pope, 
half a mile distant, who lost nine animals by it. 

Thursday, December 19th, was selected for the purpose of 
making an examination of the Hancock herds ; but, after 
some ten or twelve animals had been examined and all pro- 
nounced tainted with the disease, the owners concluded to 
stop the investigation, expressing themselves dissatisfied with 

the result, as not one of the animals examined had shown any 

i 

symptoms of disease. In order to convince them of the 
correctness of the diagnosis, a cow was selected and de- 
stroyed, which the Hancocks believed to be in perfect health. 
Upon opening the animal, several small patches of hepatized 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 297 

lung were brought into view. Upon making a longitudinal 
section of the lump, as both were involved, they presented a 
red, speckled appearance. All the other tissues were healthy. 
The symptoms in these cases were quite different from any 
which had been previously seen in an experience of three 
years with the disease in and about Philadelphia, inasmuch 
as they were not preceded by cough ; in fact, cough did not 
appear in many of the animals at any time during the pro- 
gress of the disease. The animals looked, ate, and milked 
well, previously to the development of the disease, so that 
the owners were thrown completely off their guard by 
these deceptive symptoms of health. Knowing the uncertain 
character of this disease, and wishing to stay its ravages, a 
suggestion was made by the author as to the propriety of 
having the- entire herd killed for beef. This was done the 
more readily, as the sale of the meat is legalized in Europe, 
it being regarded as uninjured, and therefore wholesome 
meat. This suggestion was acted upon, and thus these two 
farms were rid of this dreadful scourge at one blow. 

Mr. A. Gaskill, of Mount Holly, N. J., purchased a cow 
from one of the Hancocks, for his own family use, which 
was sent to Mr. Frank Lippincott's to pasture and 
turned in with Mr. L.'s own herd. Soon after, this cow 
sickened and died. This was soon followed by the loss of 
six of Mr. L.'s own cattle, — three oxen, two cows, and one 
steer. From this herd, it was communicated to the Widow 
Lippincott's, who occupied a neighboring farm ; as also to Mr. 
Cleavenger's, who lost four animals ; and to Mr. Smith's, who 
had, at one time, seven animals sick ; and from Cleavenger's 
to Noaknuts, who lost two cows. Some two or three cows, 



298 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

belonging to Mr. Logan, in the same neighborhood, got upon 
the road and broke into Mr. Lippincott's pasture, mixing 
with his herd. As soon as Mr. Logan was informed of the 
fact, he isolated these cows by enclosing them in a pen at some 
distance from his other cattle ; but they managed to break 
out, and mingled with his other stock. It could scarcely be 
expected that his herd could escape the disease, considering 
the exposure to which they had been subjected. The disease 
manifested itself in the herds of several other farmers in the 
country, but space will not allow a more extended notice of 
the subject. 

The treatment which has been found most successful in 
this country is as follows, all of which has been tested by 
the author upon various occasions : In the acute, inflamma- 
tory stage of the disease, give ten drops of Memniing's 
tincture of aconite in water, every four hours, until a change 
takes place ; follow this with aqua ammonia, three drachms ; 
nitric ether, one ounce ; pulverized gentian-root, one half an 
ounce ; water, one quart. Drench three times a day, and 
give, late in the evening, a tablespoonful of phosphate of lime, 
in a little feed, or drench with gruel. Put setons, or rowels 
in the dewlap, so as to have a dependent opening. 

This course has been found very advantageous. Or, the 
following will be found quite satisfactory ; nitrate of potash, 
two drachms ; camphor, half a drachm ; tartrate of antimony, 
half a drachm ; mix, and give in a little gruel, night and 
morning. Or, the following : Glauber-salts, four ounces ; 
water, one pint ; give twice a day. A gill of cold-drawn 
castor-oil, added to the above, would be beneficial. Con- 
tinue until the bowels are freely opened. The following has 



PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 



299 



also been found efficacious : sulphate of magnesia, eight 
ounces j nitrate of potash and pulverized Jamaica ginger- 
root, of each one ounce. Repeat as often as may be required. 
Apply externally the following ointment to the sides ; 
biniodide of mercury, four drachms; castor-oil, half an 
ounce ; lard, four ounces ; mix for use. 

Preventive measures. — 1st. The complete isolation of all 
herds in which the disease has made its appearance. 2d. 
Such animals as show symptoms of the disease should be 
placed under proper treatment. 3d. In England, it is re- 
commended that animals recovering from the disease should 
be fattened and slaught- 
ered for beef, as they are 
not safe even after their 
apparent recovery. 4th. 
All animals beyond medi- 
cal treatment should be 
killed and buried ; recom- 
pense in part, at least, being 
made to the owners. 5th. 
No animal, healthy or dis- 
eased, should be allowed 
to riln at large upon the ^ 
public highway so long as 
the disease may exist in fj| 
its neighborhood. 

The united action of all 
those interested would soon 
rid the country of a disease which has smitten all Europe. 

The author takes this occasion to acknowledge the receipt 




TAKING IT EASILY. 



300 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

of two very ably written articles upon this subject, which, in 
consequence of their length and the comparatively limited 
space allotted, he is reluctantly compelled to omit. One is 
from the pen of R. McClure, V.S., and the other from 
Isaiah Michener, Y. S. For the benefit of his readers, how- 
ever, he desires to make a single extract from the last-named 
communication, without being considered as endorsing the 
opinion advanced therein : — 

" I am inclined to favor the hypothesis that pleuro-pneu- 
monia is produced by animalculse, and that these enter the 
lungs by myriads, and thereby set up irritation and inflam- 
mation, which lead to all the phenomena and pathological 
conditions which are to be found upon dissection. This is 
my opinion of the cause of the malignant pleuro-pneumonia 
which has existed in the United States for the last seven 
years." 

After writing the foregoing, the author was informed that 
this disease had made its appearance in Mr. Logan's herd, 
already mentioned as exposed. He was called to visit the 
herd of Mr. G. Satterthwaite, who likewise lost two cows, 
and had two cows and a calf sick at the time of sending for 
him. 

PNEUMONIA. 

There are two conditions of the lungs known as pneumo- 
nia,— one, the inflammatory, and the other, the congestive 
stage. The former may follow an attack of bronchitis, or it 
may have a spontaneous origin. The congestive is generally 
the result of cold suddenly applied to an overheated animal, 



PNEUMONIA. SOI 

causing a determination of blood to the lungs, which some- 
times causes death by suffocation. 

Symptoms. — The disease is preceded by a shirering fit ; 
dry skin ; staring coat ; clammy mouth ; short cough ; Schnei- 
derian membrane (of the nose) very much reddened ; respira- 
tion hurried or laborious. In the congestive stage, upon 
applying the ear to the sides, no sound will be detected ; 
while in the inflammatory stage, a crackling or crepitating 
sound will be distinctively heard. 

Treatment. — In the congestive stage, plenty of pure air will 
be necessary. Bleed freely ; and give in drench one pound 
of Glauber-salts, with two drachms of Jamaica ginger. 
Npthing more will be required by way of treatment. 

In the inflammatory stage, bleeding should seldom be 
resorted to, except where the animal is in full condition. 
Apply the following blister to the sides, well rubbed in : oil 
of turpentine, one ounce ; croton-oil, twelve drops ; aqua 
ammonia, half an ounce ; linseed-oil, four ounces ; mix all 
together. Give internally one pound of salts in drench, and 
follow with one of the following powders every four hours : 
nitrate of potash, one ounce ; tartrate of antimony and pul- 
verized digitalis leaves, of each, one drachm ; mix all together, 
and divide into eight powders. Or the following may be 
given with equal advantage : nitrate of potash, one and a 
half ounces; nitrate of soda, six ounces ; mix, and divide into 
six powders ; one to be given in wash or gruel every six 
hours. 



302 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

PROTRUSION" OP THE BLADDER. 

This sometimes occurs during the throes in difficult cases 
of parturition in cows, and the aid of a skillful veterinary 
surgeon is requisite to replace the inverted bladder. 



PUERPERAL PEVER. 

This disease — milk fever, or dropping after calving — rarely 
occurs until the animal has attained mature age. The first 
symptoms make their appearance in from one to five or six 
days after parturition. It appears to be a total suspension 
of nervous function, independent of inflammatory action, 
which is suddenly developed, and, in favorable cases, as 
suddenly disappears. It is called dropping after calving, 
from its following the parturient state. 

Symptoms. — Tremor of hind legs ; a staggering gait, which 
soon terminates in loss of power in the hind limbs; pulse 
rises to sixty or eighty per minute ; milk diminishing in 
quantity as the disease progresses ; the animal soon goes 
down, and is unable to rise, moans piteously ; eyes set in the 
head ; general stupor ; and slow respiration. 

Treatment. — This disease, though generally regarded as a 
febrile disorder, will not yield to the general practice of 
taking blood, as a large majority of the cases so treated die. 
The bowels must be opened, but the veins never. Give 
Epsom-salts, one pound ; Jamaica ginger, two ounces ; dis- 
solve in warm water, one quart, and drench. The author 
usually gives with good effect, some five or six hours after 
the salts, two ounces of nitric ether and one ounce of tincture 
of opium, in half a pint of water. Rub well in, along the 



PUERPERAL FEVER — QUARTER EVIL, 303 

back and loins, the following : strong mustard, three ounces ; 
aqua ammonia and water, each one and a half ounces. Some 
modifications in the treatment of this disease, as well as of 
most others, will be necessary under certain circumstances, 
which can only be determined by the veterinary practitioner. 

QUARTEK EVIL. 

In some sections of the country, this disease—known by 
the other names of black quarter, and joint murrain — is 
quite common among young cattle, and is generally fatal in 
its termination. There is little or no warning of its approach. 
The first animals in a herd to be attacked are generally those 
in a full, plethoric condition. 

Symptoms. — The joints suddenly become swollen; and so 
painful as to produce severe lameness, particularly in the 
hind parts. General irritative fever exists in the system, 
attended with great tenderness of the loins ; the head is 
poked out ; eyes red and bulging ; the roots of the horns, 
as well as the breath, are hot ; the muzzle dry, and nostrils 
expanded ; pulse rises to seventy or eighty, full and hard ; 
respiration is hurried; the animal is constantly moaning, and 
appears to be unconscious of surrounding objects ; the swelling 
of the limbs extends to the shoulder and haunch ; the animal 
totters, falls and dies in from twelve to twenty-four hours. 

Treatment. — Early bleeding is requisite here, to be followed 
by active purgatives ; after which, give one of the following 
powders every half hour : nitrate of potassa, two ounces ; 
tartrate of antimony and pulverized digitalis, of each one 
and a half drachms ; mix, and divide into eight powders. These 
should not be renewed. Cold linseed tea should be freely given. 



304 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

RABIES. 

Hydrophobia in cattle is the result of the bite of a rabid 
dog, from whiGh bite no animal escapes. The effects pro- 
duced by the wound made by the teeth of such an animal, 
after the virus is once absorbed into the circulation of the 
blood, are so poisonous that all treatment is useless. The 
proper remedies must be instantly applied to prevent this 
absorption, or the case is utterly hopeless. Among men, 
nine out of every ten bitten by rabid dogs escape the terrible 
effects resulting from this dreadful disorder, without resorting 
to any applications to prevent it. It is a well-established 
fact, that men, when bitten by dogs, are generally wounded 
in some part protected by their clothing, which guards them 
from the deleterious effects of the saliva which covers the 
teeth, and which, at such times, is deadly poison. The teeth, 
in passing through the clothing, are wiped clean, so that the 
virus is not introduced into the blood ; hence the compara- 
tively few cases of rabies occurring in man. When, however, 
the wound is made upon an exposed surface, as the flesh of 
the hand, or of the face, this fatal disease is developed in 
spite of every precaution, unless such precautions are 
immediately taken. For this reason, cattle when bitten, do 
not escape the disease. 

Symptoms. — The animal separates itself from the rest of 
the herd, standing in a kind of stupor, with the eyes half- 
closed ; respiration natural ; pulse quickened ; temperature 
of body and limbs natural ; the slightest noise agitates, caus- 
ing the eyes to glare and exciting bellowing ; the bark of a 
dog produces the most violent effects ; the animal foams at 



RABIES — RED WATER. 305 

the mouth and staggers as it walks ; if water is offered, the 
muzzle is plunged into it, but the victim cannot drink ; in 
making the effort, the most fearful consequences are produced. 
The animal now seeks to do mischief, — and the quicker it is 
then destroyed, the better. . 

Treatment — This must be applied quickly, or not at all. 
The moment an animal is bitten, that moment the wound 
should be searched for, and when found, should be freely 
opened with a knife, and lunar caustic, caustic potash, or 
the per- in an gan ate of potash at once applied to all parts of 
the wound, care being taken not to suffer a single scratch to 
escape. This, if attended to in time, will save the animal. 



RED WATER. 

This disease derives its name from the color of the urine 
voided in it. It is one of the most common complaints of 
horned cattle, and one of the most troublesome to manage. 

Symptoms. — Respiration hurried ; rumination ceases; a 
high degree of fever presented ; the animal moans, arches 
the back, and strains in passing the urine, which is tinged 
with blood, or presents the appearance of pure blood. Prof. 
Gamgee, of the Edinburgh Yeterinary College, says : " The 
cause is almost invariably feeding on turnips that have 
grown on damp, ill-drained land ; and very often a change 
of diet stops the spread of this disease in the byre. Other 
succulent food, grown under similar circumstances, may pro- 
duce the same symptoms, tending to disturb the digestive 
organs and the blood-forming process. 

" In the course of my investigations as to the cause of 
various cattle-diseases, and of red water in particular. I have 

20 



,306 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

found that it is unknown on well-drained farms and in 
dairies where turnips are used only in a moderate degree. 
The lands of poor people furnish the roots most likely to 
induce this disorder • and I can confirm the statement of the 
late Mr. Cumming, of Elton, who, in his very interesting 
essay upon this subject, says, particularly in reference to 
Aberdeenshire, that it is ' a disease essentially attacking the 
poor man's cow ; and to be seen and studied, requires a 
practice extending into the less favorably situated parts of 
the country. On large farms, where good stock is well kept, 
and in town dairies, where artificial food is used to supple- 
ment the supply of turnips, it is* seldom now seen.* 

" Symptoms. — General derangement attracts the dairyman's 
attention, and, upon observing the urine which the animal 
has voided, it is seen to be of a red, or of a reddish brown, 
or claret color ; sometimes transparent, at others clear. The 
color increases in depth ; other secretions are checked ; the 
animal becomes hide-bound, and the milk goes off. Appetite 
and rumination are suspended ; the pulse becomes extremely 
feeble and frequent, though — as in all debilitating, or anaemic, 
disorders — the heart's action is loud and strong, with a 
decided venous pulse, or apparent regurgitation, in the 
large veins of the neck. 

" In some cases, if even a small quantity of blood be with- 
drawn, the animal drops in a fainting state. In red water, 
the visible mucous membranes are blanched, and the extremi- 
ties cold, indicating the languid state of the blood's circula- 
tion and the poverty of the blood itself. Constipation is one 
of the most obstinate complications ; and many veterinary 
surgeons — aware that, if the bowels can be acted on, the 



RHEUMATISM. 301 

animal is cured — nave employed purgatives in quantities 
far too large, inducing at times even death. Occasionally, 
diarrhoea is one of the first, and not of the 'unfavorable, 
symptoms." 

Treatment — Give one pint of linseed-oil ; clysters of soap 
and water should be freely used ; and give plenty of linseed- 
tea to drink. When the urine is abundant, give one ounce 
of tincture of opium, with one drachm of powdered aloes, 
three times, at intervals of six or eight hours. 



BHEUMATISM. 

This is a constitutional inflammatory affection of the joints, 
affecting the fibrous tissue and serous, or synovial membrane. 
It is caused by exposure to cold and wet; being quite 
common in low, marshy sections. 

Symptoms. — Loss of appetite ; upon forcing the animal to 
move, every joint seems stiffened ; nose dry ; coat staring ; 
constipation is also an attendant symptom ; the joints, one 
or more, become swollen and painful. This may be regarded 
as a metastic, or shifting disease ; first one part, and then 
another, seems to be affected. 

Treatment. — Mild purgatives should be used; one-half- 
ounce doses of colchicum-root pulverized will be found 
useful ; one-ounce balls of pine-tar may also be given with 
advantage. As a local application, the author has found 
nothing to equal kerosene oil, one pint, to two ounces of 
aqua ammonia, well rubbed in, two or three times a day. 



308 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

STRANGULATION OF THE INTESTINES. 

This disease in cattle, — popularly styled Knot, or Gut-tie, — 
in consequence of the peculiar arrangement of the abdominal 
viscera, is of very rare occurrence. When, however, it does 
occur, the symptoms accompanying are those of inflammation 
of the intestines. 

No kind of treatment will be successful, and the poor brute 
must suffer until death comes to its relief. 



THRUSH IN THE MOUTH. 

Aptha, or thrush in the mouth, is a vesicular disease of the 
mouth, sometimes occurring as an epizootic. It is often 
mistaken for blain, — inflammation of the tongue, or black 
tongue, — and usually occurs in the winter, or early in the 
spring. It appears in the form of vesicles, or pustules all 
over the mouth, occasionally extending to the outside of the 
lips. These pustules break, discharging a thin, sanious fluid, 
leaving minute ulcers in their places. 

This disease yields readily to treatment, when it is properly 
applied. Three ounces of Epsom-salts, once a day for three 
or four days, should be given in drench ; wash the mouth 
well with a solution of alum, tincture of myrrh, or vinegar 
and honey, and it will disappear in a few days. 



TUMORS. 

These enlargements so common in cattle, have been so 
admirably described, in the Veterinarian for 1843, by John 
R, alph^Y.S., — who has been so successful in the treatment of 
these morbid growths, that the benefit of his experience is 



TUMORS. 309 

here given. He says : " Of all the accidental productions met 
with among cattle, with the exception of wens, a certain kind 
of indurated tumor, chiefly situated about the head and 
throat, has abounded most in my practice. 

"The affection often commences in one of the thyroid 
glands, which slowly but gradually increases in size, feels 
firm when grasped^ and evinces very little tenderness. 
Generally the attendant is alarmed by a snoring or wheezing 
noise emitted by the animal in respiration, before he is aware 
of the existence of any tumefaction. This continues to in- 
crease, embracing in its progress the adjacent cellular and 
muscular tissues, and frequently the submaxillary and parotid 
glands. It becomes firmly attached to the skin through 
which an opening is ultimately effected by the pressure of 
pus from the centre of the tumor. 

The swelling often presents an irregular surface, and 
various centres of maturation exist ; but the evacuations only 
effect a partial and temporary reduction of its bulk, in conse- 
quence of the continued extension of the morbid growth and 
ulcerative process which often proceed towards the pharynx, 
rendering respiration and deglutition still more difficult, until 
at length the animal sinks from atrophy or phthisis pulmo- 
nalis. 

" In the early part of my practice, having been frustrated 
in my attempts to establish healthy action in these ulcers, 
and referring to the works that I had on surgery for informa- 
tion, I concluded that they bore some resemblance to cancer 
in the human being, and determined to attempt extirpation. 
Subsequently, numerous cases have occurred in which I have 
successfully carried that determination into effect. I have 



310 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

had some instances of failure, which failure always arose 
from some portion of the morbid growth having been left. 

" In the first stage, I have reason to believe that the tumor 
may be dispersed by the general and topical use of the 
iodurets. After the suppuration, I have tried them in 
vain. 

" As soon as the nature of the tumor is clearly developed, 
I generally attempt its removal, and, when most prominent 
by the side of the larynx, I proceed in the following manner : 
—Having cast the beast, turned the occiput toward the 
ground, and bolstered it up with bundles of straw, I proceed 
to make an incision through it, if the skin is free, parallel 
with, and over, and between the trachea and sterno-maxil- 
laris, extending it sufficiently forward into the inter-maxillary 
spaces. If I find it firmly attached to the apex of the tumor, 
I then enclose it in a curvilinear incision and proceed to 
detach the healthy skin to beyond the verge of the tumor. 

" Its edges being held by an assistant, the knife is directed 
downwards through the subcutaneous parts, and all those 
that exhibit the slightest change from healthy structure are 
removed. 

" By tying any considerable blood-vessel before dividing 
it, and by using the handle of the scalpel and the fingers in 
detaching the portion of the parotid gland towards the ear, 
the hemorrhage was always inconsiderable. 

" The wound is then treated in the ordinary way ; except 
that detergents and even antiseptics are often needed to 
arouse healthy action, and the addition of some preparation 
of iodine is often made to the digestive. In directing the 
constitutional treatment, our chief aim must be to support 



TUMORS. 311 

the animal system with plenty of gruel until rumination is 
restored. 

" I need not note that the operation should be performed 
after the animal has fasted some hours. 

"As the success of the operation depends on an entire 
removal of the diseased parts, and as the submaxillary and 
parotid glands, with important branches of nerves and blood- 
vessels, are often enveloped therein, we must not hesitate to 
remove the former, nor to divide the latter. It has occa- 
sionally happened that a rupture has been made in the 
oesophagus, or pharynx, during the operation. In that case, 
a portion of the gruel with which the animal is drenched 
escapes for a few days ; but I always found that the wound 
healed by granulation, without any particular attention. 

" The weight of these tumors varies from a few ounces to 
some pounds. One that I removed from a two-year-old 
Galloway bullock, weighed six pounds and a quarter. A 
considerable portion of the skin that covered it was excised 
and included in the above weight. It comprehened one of 
the parotid glands, and I had to divide the trunk of the 
carotid artery and jugular vein. 

" This affection may be distinguished from parotiditis and 1 
other phlegmasia? by the action of constitutional disturbance, 
and heat, and tenderness, and by the lingering progress it 
makes. I was once called to a bull laboring under alarming 
dyspnoea that had gradually increased. No external en- 
largement was perceptible ; but on introducing my hand into 
the mouth, a large polypus was found hanging from the 
velum palati into the pharynx, greatly obstructing the 
elevation of the epiglottis and the passage of food, After 



312 v CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

performing tracheotomy, to prevent suffocation, I passed a 
ligature around its pedicle in the way suggested by the old 
anatomist, Cheselden. 

" A section of one of these tumors mostly displays several 
abscesses, with matter varying in consistency and often very 
fetid, enclosed in what seems to me to be fibro-cartilaginous 
cysts, the exterior of which sometimes gradually disappears 
in the surrounding more vascular abnormal growth. Osseous 
matter (I judge from the grating of the scalpel upon it) occa- 
sionally enters into the composition of the cysts. 

" I have treated this affection in cattle of the Long-horned, 
Short-horned, Galloway, and Highland breeds ; and from the 
number of bulls in this class of patients, have reason to con- 
clude that they are more liable to it than the female. 

" About twelve months ago, I examined the head of a cow, 
on the right facial region of which there existed an enormous 
tumor, extending from the eye to the lips, and which I mis- 
took during life for a periosteal enlargement. On cutting into 
it, my mistake was evident. There was scarcely a trace of 
the original bones beneath the mass ; even those forming the 
nasal sinuses on that side were replaced by a formation much 
resembling the cysts before alluded to, and full of abscesses. 
The progress of the disease was decisively marked in the 
inferior rim of the orbital cavity, where the osseous matter 
was being removed, and the morbid structure deposited." 



ULCERS ABOUT THE JOINTS. 

Occasionally, the joints assume a tumefied appearance, 
generally ulcerating, and causing painful wounds. 

Treatment— The application of one part of alum to two 



WARBLES. 



313 



parts of prepared chalk, powdered and sprinkled upon the 
parts, is usually all that is required. 



WARBLES. 

It has been a prevalent opinion among farmers, that war- 
bles are so many evidences of the good condition of their 
cattle. It must, how- 
ever, be borne in -^J SSSm , 
mind that the warbles 
are the larvce of the iH 
oestrus bovis, which 
is said to be the most 
beautiful variety of 
gad-fly. This fly, 
judging from the 
objects of its attack, 
must be particularly 
choice in its selection 
of animals upon 
which to deposit its 
eggs, as it rarely 
chooses those poor 
in flesh, or in an un- 
healthy condition. From this circumstance, probably, has 
arisen the opinion above-mentioned. 

These warbles— or larvce of the oestrus bovis — so nearly 
resemble bots in the horse — or larvce oestrus equi — that, were 
it not for their increased size, they might readily be mistaken 
the one for the other. There is, however, one other differ- 
ence, and that is in the rings which encircle the body ; those 




HOME AGAIN. 



314 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

of the former being perfectly smooth, while those of the 
latter are prickly, and from one third to one half smaller. 

The author was called, in the year 1856, to see the prize 
cow, Pet, belonging to James Kelly, of Cleveland, Ohio, 
whose extraordinary yield of butter and milk had been re- 
ported in the Ohio Farmer, a short time previous to his visit. 
This animal was found by him in rather poor condition ; the 
causes of which he could only trace to the existence of these 
worms, comfortably located, as they were, beneath the 
animal's hide, and forming small tumors all along the spinal 
column, each being surrourfded by a considerable quantity of 
pus. A number of these were removed by means of a 
curved bistoury and a pair of forceps, since which time — as 
he has been informed — the animal has rapidly improved, 
regaining her former good condition. 

Some may urge that this is an isolated case ; but an ex- ' 
amination of cattle for themselves, will convince them to the 
contrary. It may be added, that two other cows, belonging 
to the same gentleman, were also examined at the same time, — 
one of them being in good condition, and the other, out of 
condition. From the back of the latter several of these 
insects were removed, since which time she also has much 
improved. The former was entirely free from them. These 
cows were all kept in the same pasture, received the same 
care, and were fed on the same food, and at the same time ; 
and as the removal of these larvae has been productive of 
such beneficial results, have we not a right to infer that these 
insects are injurious ? 

If we go further and examine, in the spring of the year, all 
cattle which are subject to them, instead of finding them in 



WARBLES — WORMS. 315 

the fine condition which one would naturally expect, — con- 
sidering the abundance of fresh young grass whose vigorous 
life they may incorporate into their own, — they are out of 
condition, and out of spirits, with a laggard eye, a rough 
coat, and, in some cases, a staggering gait, as though their 
strength had failed in consequence. 

How shall such attacks be prevented ? During the months 
of August and September this gad-fly is busily engaged in 
depositing its eggs. Some are of the opinion that they are 
placed on the hairs of the animal ; others, that the skin is 
perforated, and the egg deposited in the opening, which 
would account for the apparent pain manifested by cattle 
at and after the time of such deposit. Be this as it may, it is 
certain that the maggot works its way into the muscular fibre 
of the back, and depends upon the animal's blood for the 
nourishment which it receives. 

The author has been informed, by persons in whom he 
ought to have confidence, that the free use of the card, 
during the above-named months, is a specific protection 
against the attacks of the ceslrus bovis. He repeats this 
information here, not without diffidence ; since so large a 
majority of stock-owners evince, by their lack of familiarity 
with the practical use of this convenient and portable instru- 
ment, an utter disbelief in its reliability and value. 



WORMS. 

Cattle are not so subject to worms proper as are the other 
domestic animals ; nor, when these parasites do exist, is any 
injurious effect apparent, except it be in the case of young 
calves of a weakly constitution. Worms are most commonly 



316 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

located in the small intestines, and cause there considerable 
irritation, and consequently, general emaciation, or at least 
a tendency to it. 

The cause, however,, is easily removed by administering 
oses of sulphate of iron, one-half drachm each, in molasses 
once or twice a day. 

WOEMS IN THE BRONCHIAL TUBES. 

Inflammation of the bronchial tubes is often caused by 
worms of the strongylus species. Upon examination after 
death, the bronchial passages are completely blocked-up by 
these hangers-on. 

Symptoms. — A rough, staring coat; hide-bound; painful 
cough ; respiration hurried, etc. 

Treatment. — But little can be done by way of treatment 
in this disease. The administration of small doses of spirits 
of turpentine has, in some instances, proved successful. 



SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 

CASTRATION. 

The period most commonly selected for this operation is 
between the first and third months. The nearer it is to the 
expiration of the first month, the less danger attends the 
operation. 

Some persons prepare the animal by the administration 
of a dose of physic ; but others proceed at once to the opera- 
tion when it best suits their convenience, or that of the 
farmer. Care, however, should be taken that the young 



CASTRATION. 311 

animal is in perfect health. The mode formerly practised 
was simple enough : — a piece of whip-cord was tied as 
tightly as possible around the scrotum. The supply of blood 
being thus completely cut off, the bag and its contents soon 
became livid and dead, and were suffered to hang, by some 
careless operators, until they dropped off, or they were cut 
off on the second or third day. 

It is now, however, the general practice to grasp the 
scrotum in the hand, between the testicles and the belly, and 
to make an incision in one side of it, near the bottom, of 
sufficient depth to penetrate through the inner covering of 
the testicle, and of sufficient length to admit of its escape. 
The testicle immediately bursts from its bag, and is seen 
hanging by its cord. 

The careless or brutal operator now firmly ties a piece 
of small string around the cord, and having thus stopped the 
circulation, cuts through the cord, half an inch below the 
ligature, and removes the testicle. He, however, who has 
any feeling for the poor animal on which he is operating, 
considers that the only use of the ligature is to compress the 
blood-vessels and prevent after-hemorrhage, and, therefore, 
saves a great deal of unnecessary torture by including them 
alone in the ligature, and afterwards dividing the rest of the 
cord. The other testicle is proceeded with in the same way, 
and the operation is complete. The length of the cord should 
be so contrived that it will immediately retract, or be drawn 
back, into the scrotum, but not higher, while the ends of the 
string hang out through the wound. In the course of about 
a week, the strings will usually drop off, and the wounds will 
speedily heal. There will rarely be any occasion to make 



318 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

any application to the scrotum, except fomentation of it, if 
much swelling should ensue. 

s A few, whose practice cannot be justified, seize the testicle 
as soon as it escapes' from the bag, and, pulling violently, 
break the cord and tear it out. It is certain that when a 
blood-vessel is thus ruptured, it forcibly contracts, and very 
little bleeding follows ; but if the cord breaks high up, and 
retracts into the belly, considerable inflammation has occa- 
sionally ensued, and the beast has been lost. 

The application of torsion— or the twisting of the arteries 
by a pair of forceps which will firmly grasp them — has, in a 
great degree, superseded every other mode of castration, both 
in the larger and the smaller domesticated animals. The 
spermatic artery is exposed, and seized with the forceps, 
which are then closed by a very simple mechanical contri- 
vance ; the vessel is drawn a little out from its surrounding 
tissue, the forceps are turned around seven or eight times, 
and the vessel liberated. It will be found to be perfectly 
closed ; a small knot will have formed on its extremity ; it 
will retract into the surrounding surface, and not a drop 
more of blood will flow from it; the cord may theii be 
divided, and the bleeding from any little vessel arrested in 
the same way. Neither the application of the hot iron, nor 
of the wooden clamps, whether with or without caustic, can 
be necessary in the castration of the calf. 

A new instrument was introduced in France, some few 
years since, for this purpose, called the acraseur, — so con- 
structed as to throw a chain over the cord, which is wound 
up by means of a screw working upon the chain, and at the 



CASTRATION — TRACHEOTOMY. 319 

same time the cord is twisted off. No bleeding follows this 
method of operating. 

This instrument is constructed upon the same principle as 
the acraseur for use in the human family, for the removal 
of hemorrhoids, etc., the dimensions of the two only varying. 

The advantages resulting from the use of this instrument 
over all other methods are, that the parts generally heal 
within a week,— the operation is not so painful to the 
animal, — it is less troublesome to the operator, — also to the 
owner of the animal, — and lastly, it is a safer and more 
scientific operation. Its success in France soon gave it a 
reputation in England, and recently it has been introduced 
by the author into this country, and with the best results. 
Contractors, hearing of the success attending this new mode 
of operating, have visited him from all parts of the country 
to witness its performance, aitfl not one has returned without 
leaving an order for this instrument, — so well convinced have 
they been of its decided superiority over all other methods. 



TEACHEOTOMY. 

In consequence of the formation of tumors about the 
throat in cattle, from inflammation of the parotid gland, Main, 
etc., so characteristic of this species of animals, it sometimes 
becomes necessary to perform this operation in order to save 
their lives. It never fails to give instant relief. 

After the animal has been properly secured, — which is done 
by an assistant's holding the nose with one band, and one of 
the horns with the other, — the operator draws the skin tight 
over the windpipe with the thumb and fingers of his left 
hand ; then, with the scalpel in his right, cuts through the 



820 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

skin, making an incision about three inches long, dissecting up 
the skin on each side, which brings the trachea, or windpipe, in 
full view. He then cuts out a piece of the cartilaginous 
rings, about two inches long and about half an inch wide. 
This simple operation has saved the lives of very many valu- 
able animals. The. wound readily heals, and seldom leaves 
any perceptible blemish, if the work is properly performed. 



SPAYING. 

To secure a more uniform flow and a richer quality of milk, 
cows are sometimes spayed, or castrated. The milk of spayed 
cows is pretty uniform in quality ; and this quality will be, 
on an average, a little more than before the operation was 
performed. In instances where the results of this operation 
have been carefully noted, — and the operation is rarely resorted 
to in this country, in comparison with the custom in France 
and other continental countries, — the quality of the milk has 
been greatly improved, the yield becoming regular for some 
years, and varying only in accordance with the difference 
in the succulence of the food. 

The proper time for spaying is about five or six weeks 
1 after calving, or at the time when the largest quantity of 
milk is given. There seems to be some advantages in spaying 
for milk and butter dairies, where attention is not paid to 
the raising of stock. The cows are more quiet, never being 
liable to returns of seasons of heat, which always more or 
less affect the milk, both in quantity and quality. They 
give milk nearly uniform in these respects, for several years, 
provided the food is uniformly succulent and nutritious. 
Their milk is influenced like that of other cows, though to a 



SPAYING. 321 

less extent, by the quality and quantity of food ; so that in 
winter, unless the animal is properly attended to, the yield 
will decrease somewhat, but will rise again as good feed 
returns. This uniformity for the milk-dairy is of immense 
advantage. Besides, the cow, when old and inclined to dry 
up, takes on fat with greater rapidity, and produces a 
juicy and tender beef, superior, at the same age, to that of 
the ox. 

The following method of performing this operation is 
sanctioned by the practice of eminent veterinary surgeons in 
France : — 

Having covered the eyes of the cow to be operated upon, 
she is placed against a wall, provided with five rings firmly 
fastened and placed as follows : the first corresponds to the top 
of the withers ; the second, to the lower anterior part of the 
breast ; the third is placed a little distance from the angle of the 
shoulder ; the fourth is opposite to the anterior and superior 
part of the lower region ; and the fifth, which is behind, 
answers to the under-part of the buttocks. A strong 
assistant is placed between the wall and the head of the 
animal, who firmly holds the left horn in his left hand, and 
with his right, the muzzle, which he elevates a little. This 
done, the end of a long and strong-plaited cord is passed 
through the ring which corresponds to the lower part of the 
breast, and fastened ; the free end of the cord is brought 
along the left flank, and through the ring which is below and 
in front of the withers. This is brought down along the breast 
behind the shoulder and the angle of the fore-leg in order to 
pass it through the third ring; then it must be passed 
around against the outer angle of the left hip, and fastened, 

21 



322 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

after having been drawn tightly to the posterior ring, by a 
simple bow-not. 

The cow being thus firmly fixed to the wall, a cord is 
fastened by a slip-noose around her hocks, to keep them 
together in such a manner that she cannot kick the operator, 
the free end of the cord and the tail being held by an assistant. 
The cow thus secured cannot, during the operation, move 
forward, nor lie down, and the operator has all the ease 
desirable, and is protected from accident. 

The operator next — placed opposite to the animal's left flank, 
with his back turned a little toward the head of the animal — -cuts 
off the hair which covers the hide in the middle of the flanks, 
at an equal distance between the back and hip, for the space 
of thirteen or fourteen centimetres in circumference (the 
French centimetre is rather more than thirty-nine one hun- 
dredths of an inch) ; a convex bistoury is placed, opened, 
between his teeth, the edge out, the joints to the left ; then, 
with both hands, he seizes the hide in the middle of the flank, 
and forms of it a wrinkle of the requisite elevation, running 
lengthwise of the body. The assistant seizes with his right 
hand the right side of this wrinkle ; the operator takes the 
bistoury and cuts the wrinkle, at one stroke, through the 
middle ; the wrinkle having been suffered to go down, a 
separation of the hide is presented, of sufficient length to 
admit the introduction of -the hand ; the edges of the hide are 
separated with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and 
in like manner the abdominal muscles are cut through, for the 
distance of a centimetre from the lower extremity of the in- 
cision made in the hide, — the iliac slightly obliquely, and the 
lumbar across ; a puncture of the peritoneum, at the upper 



SPAYING. 323 

extremity of the wound, is then made with the straight 
bistoury ; the buttoned bistoury is then introduced, and 
moved obliquely from above to the lower part, up to the ter- 
mination of the incision made in the abdominal muscles. 

The flank being opened, the right hand is introduced into 
the abdomen, and directed along the right side of the cavity 
of the pelvis, behind the paunch, and underneath the rectum, 
to the matrix ; after the position of these viscera is ascer- 
tained, the organs of reproduction, or ovaries, are searched 
for, which are at the extremity of the matrix ; when found, 
they are seized between the thumb and fore-finger, detached 
completely from the ligaments which keeps them in their 
place, and by a light pull, the cord and the vessels, the 
uterine or Fallopian tube, are separated at their place of union 
with the ovarium, by means of the nails of the thumb and 
forefinger, which present themselves at the point of touch, 
thus breaking the cord and bringing away the ovary. 

The hand is again introduced into the abdominal cavity, 
and the remaining ovaries brought away in like manner. A 
suture is then placed of three or four double threads, waxed 
at an equal distance, and at two centimetres, or a little less, 
from the lips of the wound, passing it through the divided 
tissues j a movement is made from the left hand with the piece 
of thread ; having reached that point, a fastening is made 
with a double knot, the seam placed in the intervals of the 
thread from the right, and as the lips of the wound are ap- 
proached, a fastening is effected by a simple knot, with a 
bow, care being taken not to close too tightly the lower part 
of the seam, in order to allow the suppuration, which may be 
established in the wound, to escape. The wound is then 



324 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

covered up with a pledget of lint, kept in its place by three 
or four threads passed through the stitches, and the operation 
is complete. 

It happens, sometimes, that in cutting the muscles before 
mentioned, one or two of the arteries are severed. Should 
much blood escape, a ligature must be applied before opening 
the peritoneal sac ; since, if this precaution is omitted, blood 
will escape into the abdomen, which may occasion the most 
serious consequences. 

For the first eight days succeeding, the animal should have 
a light diet, and a soothing, lukewarm draught ; if the weather 
should be cold, cover with a woollen covering. She must be 
prevented from licking the wound, and from rubbing it 
against other bodies. The third day after the operation, 
bathe morning and evening about the wound with water of 
mallows lukewarm, or anoint it with a salve of hog's lard, and 
administer an emollient glyster during three or four days. 

Eight days after the operation, take away the bandage, the 
lint, the fastenings, and the thread. The wound is at that 
time, as a general thing, completely cicatrized. Should, 
however, some slight suppuration exist, a slight pressure 
must be used above the part where it is located, so as to 
cause the pus to leave, and if it continues more than five or 
six days, emollients must be supplied by alcotized water, or 
chloridized, especially in summer. The animal is then to be 
brought back gradually to her ordinary nourishment. 

In some cows, a swelling of the body is observable a short 
time after having been spayed, attributable to the introduc- 
tion of cold air into the abdomen during the operation ; but 
this derangement generally ceases within twenty-four hours. 



SPAYING. 325 

Should the contrary occur, administer one or two sudorific 
draughts, such as wine, warm cider, or a half-glass of brandy, 
in a quart of warm water, — treatment which suffices in a short 
time to restore a healthy state of the belly, — the animal at the 
same time being protected by two coverings of wool. 

The only precaution, in the way of management, to be 
observed as a preparative for the operation is, that on the 
preceding evening not so copious a meal should be given. 
The operation should also be performed in the morning 
before the animal has fed, so that the operator may not find 
any obstacle from the primary digestive organs, especially 
the paunch, which, during its state of ordinary fullness, might 
prevent operating with facility. 

The advantages of spaying milch-cows are thus summed 
up by able French writers : First, rendering permanent the 
secretion of milk, and having a much greater quantity within 
the given time of every year ; second, the quality of milk 1 
being improved ; third, the uncertainty of, and the dangers 
incident to, breeding being, to a great extent, avoided j 
fourth, the increased disposition to fatten even when giving 
milk freely, or when, from excess of age or from accidental 
circumstances, the secretion of milk is otherwise checked ; 
fifth, the very short time required to produce a marketable 
condition ; and sixth, the meat of spayed cattle being of a 
quality superior to that of ordinary cattle. 

This operation would seem to have originated in this 
country. The London Yeterinary Journal of 1834 contains 
the following, taken from the United States Southern Agri- 
culturist : — " Some years since, I passed a summer at 
Natchez, and put up at a hotel there, kept by Mr. Thomas 



326 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Winn. During the time that I was there I noticed two 
remarkably fine cows, which were kept constantly in the 
stable, the servant who had charge of the horses, feeding 
them regularly three times a day with green guinea grass, 
cut with a sickle. These cows had so often attracted my 
attention, on account* of the great beauty of their form, and 
deep red color, the large size of their bags, and the high con- 
dition in which they were kept, that I was at length induced 
to ask Mr. Winn to what breed of cattle they belonged, and 
his reasons for keeping them constantly in the stable in pre- 
ference to allowing them to run in the pasture, where they 
could enjoy the benefit of air and exercise, and at the same 
time crop their own food, and thereby save the labor and 
trouble of feeding them ? Mr. Winn, in reply to these in- 
quiries, stated that the two cows which I so much admired 
were of the common stock of the country, and he believed, 
of Spanish origin ; but they were both spayed cows, and that 
they had given milk either two or three years. Considering 
this a phenomenon (if not in nature at least in art), I made 
further inquiries of Mr. Wion, who politely entered into a 
very interesting detail, communicating facts which were as 
extraordinary as they were novel. Mr. Winn,, by way of 
preface, observed that he, in former years, had been in the habit 
of reading English magazines, which contained accounts of 
the plowing-matches which were annually held in some of 
the southern counties of England, performed by cattle, and 
that he had noticed that the prizes were generally adjudged 
to the plowman who worked with spayed heifers ; and 
although there was no connection between that subject and 
the facts which he should state, it was, nevertheless, the 



SPAYING. 32? 

cause that first directed his mind into the train of thought 
and reasoning which finally induced him to make the experi- 
ments, which resulted in the discovery of the facts which he 
detailed, and which I will narrate, as accurately as my 
memory will enable me to do it, after the lapse of more than 
twenty years. Mr. Winn's frequent reflections had (he said) 
led him to the belief ' that if cows were spayed soon after 
calving, and while in a full flow of milk, they would continue 
to give milk for many years without intermission, or any 
diminution of quantity, except what would be caused by a 
change from green to dry, or less succulent food." To test 
this hypothesis, Mr. "Winn caused a very good cow, then in 
full milk, to be spayed. The operation was performed about 
one month after the cow had produced her third calf ; it was 
not attended with any severe pain, or much or long continued 
fever. The cow was apparently well in a few days, and very 
soon yielded her usual quantity of milk, and continued to 
give freely for several years without any intermission or 
diminution in quantity, except when the food was scarce and 
dry ; but a full flow of milk always came back upon the return 
of a full supply of green food. This cow ran in the Missis- 
sippi low grounds or swamp near Natchez, got cast in deep 
mire, and was found dead. Upon her death, Mr. Winn 
caused a second cow to be spayed. The operation was en- 
tirely successful. The cow gave milk constantly for several 
years, but in jumping a fence stuck a stake in her bag, that 
inflicted a severe wound, which obliged Mr. Winn to kill her. 
Upon this second loss, Mr. Winn had two other cows spayed, 
and, to prevent the recurrence of injuries from similar causes 
with those which had occasioned him the loss of the first two 



328 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

spayed cows, he resolved to keep them always in the stable, 
or some safe enclosure, and to supply them regularly with 
green food, which that climate throughout the greater part 
of, if not all, the year enabled him to procure. The result, 
in regard to the last two spayed cows, was, as in the case of 
the first two, entirely satisfactory, and fully established, as 
Mr. Winn believed, the fact, that the spaying of cows, while 
in full milk, will cause them to continue to give milk during 
the residue of their lives, or, until prevented by old age. 
When I saw the last two spayed cows it was, I believe, 
during the third year that they had constantly given milk 
after they were spayed. The character of Mr. Winn (now 
deceased) was highly respectable, and the most entire confi- 
dence could be reposed in the fidelity of his statements ; and 
as regarded the facts which he communicated in relation to 
the several cows which he had spayed, numerous persons 
with whom I became acquainted, fully confirmed his state- 
ments." 

In November 1861, the author was called to perform this 
operation upon the short-horn Galloway cow, Josephine 
the Second, belonging to Henry Ingersoll, Esq., of this city. 
This cow was born May 8th, 1860. The morning was cold 
and cloudy. About ten o'clock the cow was cast, with the 
assistance of R. McClure, V.S., after which she was placed 
under the influence of chloric ether. He then made an in- 
cision, about five inches in length, through the skin and walls 
of the abdomen, midway between the pelvis bone and the 
last rib on the left side, passing in his right hand, cutting 
away the ovaries from the Fallopian tubes with the thumb- 
nail. The opening on the side was then closed by means of 



SPAYING. 329 

the interrupted suture. The animal recovered from the in- 
fluence of the anaesthetic in about fifteen minutes, when she 
was allowed to rise, and walk back to her stall. 

Upon the morning of the second day succeeding the 
operation, the animal was visited and found to be in good 
spirits, apparently suffering very little pain or inconvenience 
from the operation, and the wound healing nicely. 

Since that time, he has operated upon some twenty cows, 
all of which, with a single exception, have thus far proved 
satisfactory. 

Several of these cows are under the direction of a com- 
mittee from the Philadelphia Society for promoting Agricul- 
ture, whose duty it is to have a daily record kept of each 
cow's yield of butter and milk, for one year from the time 
of spaying. Their report will be perused by the agricultural 
community with much interest. 

The author's own experience will not justify him in speak- 
ing either in favor of, or against, this operation ; as sufficient 
time has not as yet elapsed to satisfy him as to its relative 
advantages and disadvantages. He, however, regards the 
operation as comparatively safe. The French estimate the 
loss at about fifteen per cent., and the gain at thirty per cent. 
Of those upon which he has operated, not a single animal 
died. 



330 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 



A LIST OF MEDICINES USED IN TREATING 
CATTLE. 

The medicines used in the treatment of the diseases of 
cattle, are essentially the same as those in vogue for the 
diseases of the human being and the horse, — the only differ- 
ence being in their combination and the quantities adminis- 
tered. 

Absorbents. — Medicines which destroy acidities in the 
stomach and bowels ; luch as chalk, magnesia, etc. 

Alteratives. — Medicines which restore the healthy func- 
tions of secretion, by gradually changing the morbid action 
in an impaired constitution. Those in most common use 
are iEthiops mineral, antimony, rosin, sulphur, etc., which 
form the principal ingredients in all condition-powders, and 
are chiefly useful in diseases of the skin, such as hide-bound, 
mange, surfeit, etc. 

Alterative Powder. — Sulphur pulverized, one pound ; 
black antimony, one half a pound ; nitrate of potassa, four 
ounces ; sulphate of iron, one half a pound ; linseed meal, 
one pound ; mix well ; dose, one half an ounce, night and 
morning. 

Antacids. — Agents which neutralize, by their chemical 
action, acids in the stomach ; as ammonia, carbonate of 
potassa, chalk, lime-water, magnesia, and soda. 

Anthelmintics.— Remedies used for the expulsion of 
worms from the stomach and intestines. These may act 
chemically or by their cathartic operation. The most 



LIST OF MEDICINES. 331 

reliable are iEthiops mineral, mix vomica, preparations of 
mercury, wormwood, etc. 

Anthelmintic Powders. — Nux vomica, in one half-drachm 
doses, two or three times daily, to an ox or cow ; for calves, 
the dose must be diminished, according to age. 

Antidotes. — Medicines which neutralize the effects of 
poisons by a chemical union, forming an insoluble compound, 
or a mild, harmless one. Alkaline solutions are antidotes 
for the mineral acids ; as soap in solution, a simple remedy, 
and always at hand. Larcl, magnesia, and oil are antidotes 
for poisoning by arsenic ; albumen, — in the form of the white 
of an egg, — milk, etc., for corrosive sublimate, and other 
mercurial preparations. 

Antiseptics. — Medicines which prevent putridity in ani- 
mal substances, and arrest putrefaction, when already existing. 
These are used both externally and internally. The chief 
specifics of this class are the acids, alcohol, ammonia, asa- 
foetida, camphor, charcoal, chloride of lime, cinchona, ether, 
and opium. 

Antispasmodics. — Medicines which exert their power in 
allaying inordinate motions or spasms in the system, arising 
from various causes, such as debility, worms, etc. Those 
most generally in use are ammonia, asafoetida, camphor, 
cinchona, ether, lactacarium, mercury, and opium. 

Antispasmodic draught. — Tincture of opium, one ounce ; 
nitric ether, two ounces ; water, one-half pint. Mix for 
drench ; if repeated, it should be followed by a purgative, as 
soon as the spasms have subsided. Or, use the following : 
sulphuric ether, one to two ounces ; water, one-half pint. 
Mix for drench ; repeat every hour, if necessary. 



332 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Aromatics. — Medicines possessing a grateful, spicy scent, 
and an agreeable, pungent taste ; as anise-seed, cardamoms, 
cinnamon, cloves, ginger, etc. They are principally used in 
combination with purgatives, stomachics, and tonics. 

Astringents. — Medicines which serve to diminish exces- 
sive discharges, as in diabetes, diarrhoea, etc. The principal 
agents of this class are the acids, alum, chalk, lime-water, 
opium, and the sulphate of copper, lead, iron, or zinc. 

Astringent powder. — Opium, one drachm ; prepared chalk, 
half an ounce; Jamaica ginger, six drachms. Mix, and 
divide into four powders ; one to be given every hour, in a 
little flour gruel. Or, the following : opium, one drachm ; 
catechu, two drachms ; prepared chalk, one ounce. Mix, and 
divide into four powders ; to be given as before. 

Cardiacs.— Cordials — so termed, from their possessing 
warm and stimulating properties — given to invigorate the 
system. 

Cathartics. — Medicines — also known as purgatives — 
which cause free evacuations of the bowels. The only pur- 
gatives used by the author in his cattle practice, as a general 
rule, are aloes, cream of tartar, Epsom-salts, lard and linseed- 
oil. These answer all the indications, where purgatives are 
useful ; indeed, no better purgative for cattle can be found 
than Epsom-salts, combined with a carminative or aromatic 
drug, such as ginger. 

Caustics. — Substances which burn or destroy parts, by 
combining with them and causing their disorganization ; 
used to destroy unhealthy action, or morbid growths, such as 
foul ulcers, foul in the foot, warts, etc. The most powerful 
remedial of this class is actual cauterization with a red-hot 



A LIST OF MEDICINES. 333 

iron ; caustic potash, lunar caustic, nitrous and sulphuric 
acids, permanganate of potash, etc., are also used. 

Cordials. — Best brandy, three ounces; orange peel, one 
drachm ; tepid water, one pint. Mix all together, for one 
dose. Or, this for a single dose : ale, one pint ; Jamaica 
ginger, two drachms. Or, the following, also a single dose : 
allspice, three drachms ; ginger, one drachm ; caraway seeds, 
two drachms. 

Demulcents. — Mucilaginous medicaments, which have the 
power of diminishing the effects of stimulating substances 
upon the animal,. system. Of this class, garden rue, or 
marsh-mallow, gum-arabic, and gum-tragacanth are the most 
useful. 

Detergents.- — -Agents which remove foulness from ulcers. 

Detergent Powder. — Prepared chalk, two ounces ; alum, 
one ounce. Mix ; to be sprinkled on the part, after washing 
with Castile-soap and water. This powder is also an admira- 
ble application for foot-rot in sheep. 

Diaphoretics. — Agents which increase the natural dis- 
charge through the pores of the skin, and in some animals 
induce perspiration. 

Digestives. — Medicines which promote suppuration. 

Digestive Ointment. — Mix together equal portions of 
spirits of turpentine and lard. Or, mix together with a 
gentle heat the following : Venetian turpentine, one ounce ; 
lard, one ounce ; pulverized sulphate of copper, two drachms. 
Or this, mixed : rosin, two ounces ; spirits of turpentine, one 
ounce ; red precipitate, one-half an ounce ; lard, two ounces. 

Diuretics. — Medicines that stimulate the action of the 
kidneys, and augment the secretion of urine. These are very 



334 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

useful in swellings of the legs or body. Take of nitrate of 
potash and rosin, each six drachms ; mix, and divide in three 
powders ; one to be given daily. Or, the following : spirits 
of turpentine, half an ounce ; Castile-soap, one ounce ; 
Jamaica ginger one drachm ; opium, one drachm. Mix : 
and divide in two balls ; one to be given each day. 

Emollients. — Medicines which relax the lining tissues, 
allay irritation, and soften the parts involved, — generally of a 
mucilaginous, or oily character. Lard, linseed meal, and 
marsh-mallows are chiefly used. 

Lithontriptics. — Medicines possessing the power of 
dissolving calculi, or stones in the urinary passages ; com- 
posed principally, according to the researches of modern 
chemists, of lithic or uric acid. The preparation most suc- 
cessfully employed by the author in such cases is muriatic 
acid, in doses of from one to two drachms, in a pail of water, 
once or twice a day. 

Narcotics. — Medicines that stupefy, and produce sleep. 
Belladonna, camphor, hyoscyamus and opium, are among the 
narcotics in common use. 

Nauseants. — Agents which cause loss of appetite, and 
produce the sensation of vomiting, without affecting it. For 
this purpose, aloes, tartrate of antimony, white hellebore, 
etc., are used. 

Parturients. — Agents which act upon the uterus. In 
cases of difficult parturition, or calving, resort is occasionally 
had to them. Ergot of rye is the most powerful. 

Refrigerants. — Cooling applications, which reduce the 
temperature of the blood and body ; as cold water, ether, 
lead-water, etc. 



IIST OF MEDICINES. 335 

Rubefacients. — Medicines which gently irritate the skin, 
producing redness on white surfaces. Of this class, are aqua 
ammonia, creosote, mustard, turpentine, etc. 

Sedatives. — Agents which depress the vital energies, 
without destroying life ; as aconite, digitalis, hellebore, hy- 
drochloric acid, hyoscyamus, opium, and tartrate of anti- 
mony. 

Tonics. — Medicines which increase the action of the 
muscular system, giving strength and vigor to the animal. 
These are among the most useful remedies known to man, 
and are beneficial in all cases of debility, toning up the 
stomach, and improving the appetite and condition of the 
animal. 

Tonic Powder.- — Pulverized gentian-root, one ounce ; 
Jamaica ginger, one half an ounce ; anise-seed, six drachms. 
Mix, and divide in eight powders ; one to be given night and 
morning. 

Traumatics. — Medicines which excite the healing process 
of wounds; as aloes, friar's balsam, myrrh, rosin, sulphate 
of copper or zinc, tar, etc. 

Traumatic lotion. — Mix tincture of aloes, one ounce ; 
tincture of myrrh, two ounces. Or, melt together, tar, one 
ounce ; rosin, two ounces ; lard, four ounces. Or, mix sul- 
phate of zinc, one drachm ; rain-water, one half pint. Or, 
use the following, the celebrated friar's balsam ; benzoin, in 
powder, four ounces ; balsam of Peru, two ounces ; Soco- 
trine aloes, one half ounce ; rectified spirits, one quart. Di- 
gest for ten or twelve days ; then filter for use. 



336 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

DOSES OF VARIOUS REMEDIES USED IN 
CATTLE PRACTICE. 

Aconite. — [Monk's hood; Wolfs bane.'] An active 
poison. Used as a sedative in tincture ; ten to twenty drops 
in water. 

JSthiops Mineral. — [Hydrargyri Sulphur etum. ] One to 
two drachms. 

Alcohol. — A stimulant ; three to six ounces. 

Allspice. — [Pimento berries.] Aromatic; two to four 
drachms. 

Aloes. — Cathartic and tonic ; tonic dose, one half to one 
drachm — cathartic, one to two ounces. 

Alum. — [Alumen.] Irritant, astringent, and sedative; 
two to four drachms. 

Ammonia. — [Aqua ammonia; Liquor ammonia; Harts- 
horn.] Principally used in combination with mustard, as an 
external irritant, and internally, as a diffusible stimulant ; 
two to six drachms. Of carbonate of ammonia, three to 
six drachms. 

Anise-seed. — [Fruit of the Pimpinella Anisum.] One to 
two drachms. 

Ammo-NY.— [Sulphate of Antimony.] Used in condition- 
powders ; one to three drachms. Muriate of antimony. [ Oil, 
or butter, of antimony.] Caustic ; very good in foul in the 
foot. Tartarized antimony. [Tartar emetic.] One to four 
drachms. The author, in the last instance, varies from the 
dose prescribed by veterinary authors, never giving it in more 



DOSES OF VARIOUS MEDICINES. . 337 

than one-half-drachin doses, believing its action thus more 
certain and satisfactory. 

Asafcetida. — Stimulant ; two to four drachms. 

• Axunge. — \_Hog's Lard.] Ointment, principally ; maybe 
used as purgative in doses of from one to one and a half 
pounds. 

Balsam op Peru. — Stimulant, and tonic ; two to four 
drachms. 

Belladonna. — [Deadly Nightshade.'] Narcotic, anti- 
spasmodic, and irritant poison ; one to two drachms. 

Benzoin. — [ Gum Benjamin . ] Ointment ; see Traumatica 

Calomel. — \_Hydrargyri Chloridum.~\ One half to one 
drachm. 

Camomile. — [Anthemis.] Stomachic, carminative, and 
tonic ; one to two ounces. 

Camphor. — \_Camphora Officinarum.] Narcotic and 
irritant ; in small doses, sedative and stimulant ; one to four 
drachms. 

Cantharides. — [ Spanish Flies. "] Internally, stimulant and 
diuretic ; twenty to thirty grains. Externally, vesicant ; used 
in form of ointment, or tincture. 

Caraway. — [Fruit of the Carum Carisi.] Used chiefly 
for flavoring purposes. 

Cardamoms. — [Fruit of the Elettaria Cardamomum.] 
Used to communicate an agreeable flavor to other medicines. 

Catechu. — \_Acacia Catechu.'] Astringent, and anti- 
septic ; three to six drachms. 

Chalk. — [Carbonate of Lime; Calais Carbonas.] Two 
to three ounces. 
22 



338 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 

Charcoal. — [Garbo Ligni.] Antiseptic; one half to 
one ounce. 

Cinchona. — [Peruvian Bark.']. Astringent and tonic; 
one to two ounces. 

Copper, Sulphate op. — [Blue Vitriol.] Tonic and astrin- 
gent ; two to four drachms. 

Creosote. — [ Creosotum.] A sedative, anodyne, astringent, 
narcotic, and irritant poison ; fifteen to twenty drops. 

Croton Oil.— \_Cro tonis Oleum.] Internally, as a ca- 
thartic, six to ten drops in linseed-oil; externally, as a 
counter-irritant. 

Digitalis. — [Fox Glove.] Sedative and diuretic ; one to 
two scruples. 

Epsom-Salts. — [Sulphate of magnesia.] Cathartic; one 
nound, combined with ginger. 

Ergot. — [Spurred rye.] Parturient ; two to six drachms. 

Ether. — Stimulant, narcotic, and anaesthetic ; one to two 
ounces. 

Gentian. — [Root of Gentiana luted]. Stomachic and 
tonic ; one to two ounces. 

Ginger. — [Zengiber officinale.] Stomachic, carminative, 
and slightly tonic ; one to two ounces. 

Gum-arabic. — [Gummi Acacice.] Demulcent and emol- 
lient ; one to two ounces. 

Gum-tragacanth. Same action and same doses as the 
former. 

Hellebore. — [Eelleborus. ] Irritant poison, and sedative ; 
twenty to' thirty grains. 

Hyoscyamus. — [Henbane.] Narcotic, anodyne, and anti- 
spasmodic ; ten to twenty grains. 



DOSES OF VARIOUS MEDICINES. 339 

Iodine. — [Iodineum.] Internally, as a tonic; two to 
three scruples ; also as a tincture, and in ointments for 
reducing enlargements of the soft tissues. 

Iron, Sulphate of. — [Ferri Sulphas; Green Vitriol; 
Copperas.'] Irritant, astringent, and tonic; two to four 
drachms. 

Koosso. Anthelmintic ; two to four drachms. 

Lime, Chloride of. Antiseptic ; dose internally, one to 
two drachms. 

Linseed oil. Cathartic ; one pint. 

Lunar Caustic. — [Nitrate of Silver.] Used as a caustic. 

Magnesia. — [See Epsom-Salts.] 

Marsh-mallow. — \_Althea3 Radix.] Demulcent and emol- 
lient ; principally used for poultices and fomentations. 

Muriatic Acid.. — [Hydrochloric Acid; Spirit of Salt.] 
tonic, irritant, and caustic ; dose internally, one to two 
drachms. 

Mustard. — [Sinapis. ] Counter-irritant ; used principally 
as an external application. 

Myrrh. — Stimulating tonic to unhealthy sores; seldom 
used internally. 

Nitric Acid. — [Aquafortis.] Astringent and tonic; one 
to two drachms in water. Used also as a caustic. 

Nux Yomica. — [Seeds of Strychnos.] In large doses, a 
deadly poison ; in medicinal doses, a powerful tonic and 
anthelmintic ; one half to one drachm. 

Opium. — [Papaver Somniferum.] Narcotic, sedative, ano- 
dyne, stimulant, and anti-spasmodic ; two to four drachms. 

Potash, Carbonate of. — [Potassce Garbonas.] Antacid 
and diuretic ; three to six drachms. 



340 

Potash, Caustic. — [Potassa fusa. ] Used only as a caustic. 

Potassa, Permanganate of. — Used externally as a 
caustic. 

Rosin. — Diuretic ; two to three ounces. 

Salt, Common. — [Chloride of Sodium.'] Irritant, cathar- 
tic, stimulant, and antiseptic ; one to one and a half pounds. 

Salts, Glauber. — [Sulphate of Soda."] Cathartic and 
diuretic ; one to one and a half pounds. 

Saltpetre. — [Nitrate of Potassa.'] Diuretic, febrifuge, 
and refrigerant; one half to one ounce. 

Sublimate, Corrosive. — [Protochloride of Mercury.] 
Seldom used internally ; externally, caustic and stimulant. 

Sulphur. — [Brimstone.] Stimulant and laxative ; three 
to four ounces. 

Sulphuric Acid. — Irritant, caustic, and astringent; two 
to three drachms. 

Tartar, Cream op. — [Potassce Tartras.] Cathartic ;. three 
to four ounces. 

Turpentine. — Stimulant, anthelmintic, diuretic, and laxa- 
tive ; one to two ounces. 

Zinc, Sulphate op. — [White Vitriol] Astringent and 
tonic ; one to two drachms. 







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